Commonwealth Bank app launches NFC payments

The Commonwealth Bank app has finally launched contactless NFC PayPass payments — but there's a catch.

With most phones on the market now supporting NFC — with the glaring exception of iPhones — it feels like we've been waiting forever for an NFC payment option. The Commonwealth Bank has now started rolling it out in its app for Android — but it's still in its early stages.

The update, which launched yesterday for Android phones, only supports NFC natively for "select Samsung Galaxy S4 phones" — otherwise users have to attach an NFC PayTag — which costs users AU$2.99 and can be ordered from inside the app — to your phone.

Additionally, i9506-variant Galaxy S4 owners will have to wait until early next year to download a software update to enable them to use NFC.

The service is not yet available for iPhone — it's coming in January 2014. iPhone users will need to purchase a PayTag to utilise the service.

That said, as the first bank in Australia to offer NFC payments, it's great to see it finally arriving — we hope it's only a matter of time before the Commonwealth Bank can figure out how more phones can offer it natively.

Lisa Frazier, CommBank's Executive General Manager Digital Channels, said, "Today marks a significant leap forward in how CommBank customers can both pay and receive money and manage their finances on-the-go. Whether that's using downtime on the bus to pay a bill; transferring the cost of dinner to a friend's mobile number or Facebook contact; or leaving your wallet at home and using your phone to pay for a coffee — CommBank app brings speed and convenience to mobile banking and payments from a smartphone anytime, anywhere."

You can find out more on the Commonwealth Bank website.