Your Phone’s Payment Tech Will Soon Be Easier to Use Than Ever Before

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The technology used to make payments and pair devices like smartphones or wearables is set to get even easier to use. A new upcoming update will quadruple the range of the tech on popular gadgets, making it less fiddly to line up your device with a payment terminal or product.

A new update called NFC Release 15 will see the range of the tech boost from 0.5cm to 2cm. That will mean it’s easier to activate NFC connectivity between any two devices, and you won’t need to align it as accurately as previously.

The tech change was revealed by The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association dedicated to promoting the tech.

The NFC Forum said, “This innovation means that connections will start sooner and require less precise device alignment, making NFC quicker, more reliable and easier to use than ever. Contactless connections will be more seamless, while retaining the critical need for user intent.”

The technology has previously been capable of working at greater distances, but it has been limited to some specialized hardware that has been able to reach up to 10cm. This move from The NFC Forum is to establish what it calls a new “baseline” for all consumer devices to work on.

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The NFC Forum includes representatives from top-end tech companies like Apple, Google, and Sony. All of these companies now have access to the new certifications, and it’ll be rolling out to all other interested companies at some stage in Fall 2025.

It’s unclear exactly how you’ll first be able to experience this tech for yourself. The NFC Forum hasn’t explained whether this change will impact devices already on the market, like your current smartphone or wearable.

It may be that this can be turned on by your phone’s manufacturer through a software update, or you may need to wait to upgrade to a new device to get access to the improved range. PCMag has asked The NFC Forum for further clarification on the rollout and we will update this article when we hear back.