Tap to Pay

Use Tap to Pay on Android to accept in-person contactless payments with compatible NFC-equipped Android devices.

Tap to Pay on Android includes support for Visa, Mastercard, and American Express contactless cards and NFC-based mobile wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay). PIN entry is supported. Stripe includes Tap to Pay on Android in the Terminal Android SDK and the Terminal React Native SDK, and enables payments directly in your Android mobile app.

Availability

Availability in Public preview

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Supported devices

Tap to Pay on Android works with a variety of Android devices such as mobile phones, kiosks, tablets, handheld devices, and so on. You can only discover and connect to devices that meet all of the following criteria:

• Has a functioning, integrated NFC sensor and ARM-based processor
• Isn’t rooted and device bootloader is locked and unchanged
• Runs a current version of Android (Android 11 or above)
• Uses Google Mobile Services and has the Google Play Store app installed
• Has a hardware backed keystore
• Supports generating key pairs using a variety of key algorithms, including RSA and AES from the Android keystore
• A stable connection to the internet
• Runs the unmodified manufacturer provided OS

Android device emulators aren’t supported by Tap to Pay. The same device requirements are enforced in the simulated and production reader to give developers the most realistic experience during testing.

Device types

Supported device types include, but aren’t limited to:

Some manufacturers produce both GMS and non-GMS certified devices. If you’re using a non-GMS certified device, you’ll receive an error stating ATTESTATION_FAILURE: Device is not Google Mobile Services (GMS) certified when attempting to connect the device. If this occurs, contact the manufacturer to resolve the issue.

Mobile phones

Supported mobile phones include, but aren’t limited to:

User interface

Tap to Pay on Android includes payment collection screens. When your application is ready to collect a payment, the Stripe Terminal SDK takes over the display to handle the collection process. After you call the collect payment method, your application continues to run while Tap to Pay displays a full-screen prompt that instructs the cardholder to tap their card or NFC-based mobile wallet. If there’s an error reading the card, a prompt for retry displays. A successful tap returns a success indication and then your application regains control to confirm the payment.

Device-specific NFC tap zone UI

The Tap to Pay on Android SDK supports device-specific UX that dynamically indicates to the end user where the tap zone is located on the device. View examples of what the UX might look like in practice:

UX Configuration

You can override the default UX using the Terminal Android SDK, including colours of the tap zone, error message, success animation, and the position of the tap zone indicator. Call this method during your initialisation or reader connection process. You can invoke this function multiple times if you need to adjust the appearance of the Tap to Pay screen during the lifetime of your application. This method only affects the appearance of the production Tap to Pay payment prompt; it doesn’t impact the PIN collection screen or the simulated payment prompt. View an example of customising the UX:

val config = TapToPayUxConfiguration.Builder()
    .tapZone(
        TapToPayUxConfiguration.TapZone.Manual.Builder()
            .indicator(TapToPayUxConfiguration.TapZoneIndicator.FRONT)
            .position(TapToPayUxConfiguration.TapZonePosition.Manual(0.5f, 0.3f))
            .build()
    )
    .colors(
        TapToPayUxConfiguration.ColorScheme.Builder()
            .primary(TapToPayUxConfiguration.Color.Value(Color.parseColor("#FF008686")))
            .success(TapToPayUxConfiguration.Color.Default)
            .error(TapToPayUxConfiguration.Color.Resource(android.R.color.holo_red_dark))
            .build()
    )
    .darkMode(
        TapToPayUxConfiguration.DarkMode.DARK
    )
    .build()

Terminal.getInstance().setTapToPayUxConfiguration(config)

Cardholder verification limits and fallback

Some contactless card transactions above certain amounts might require additional cardholder verification methods (CVM) such as PIN entry. Tap to Pay on Android supports PIN entry on Terminal Android SDK 4.3.0 or later.

The PIN is collected in two scenarios:

1. The transaction amount is above the cardholder verification method (CVM) limit.

In this case, the PIN is collected before collectPaymentMethod returns. Focus returns to your application after the PIN is entered or PIN collection is cancelled.

1. The issuer makes a Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) request.

In this case, the PIN is collected during confirmPaymentIntent. Focus returns to your application after confirmPaymentIntent, unless the issuer makes a PIN request. In that case, PIN collection takes focus again until the PIN is entered or PIN collection is cancelled.

PIN error handling

You can only collect a PIN under the following conditions:

• Developer options are disabled.
• Accessibility services aren’t registered or running.
• Screen recording isn’t active.
• There are no screen overlay windows
• You have an active internet connection.

PIN collection also fails if any party attempts to take a screenshot.

If PIN collection fails due to one of these factors, you receive a TAP_TO_PAY_INSECURE_ENVIRONMENT error with additional information about the cause of the error. We recommend providing actionable next steps for the user to retry the payment to prompt for a PIN.

Regional PIN considerations

NFC wallet payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay) usually don’t require a PIN. However, in the UK, Canada, and Finland, regional requirements and card issuer policies can affect contactless payments.

In the UK, depending on the issuer, Strong Customer Authentication might require some cards to be inserted into a device. In such cases, if the card isn’t inserted, the payment is declined before the PIN screen appears, with the reason offline_pin_required.

In Canada and Finland, many issued cards are offline PIN only, meaning that entering the PIN requires physical contact, such as insertion into a device, which isn’t supported with Tap to Pay.

In these scenarios, we recommend asking the customer to try a different card or collecting payment in a different way. For example, using a Terminal card reader or sending a Payment Link.

When collecting payment with your mobile device, hold the card to the reader until it reads the chip information. You might need to wait a few seconds after the initial vibration when the card makes contact. In the event of a decline, use another method to collect payment, such as a Terminal card reader. You can only have one active connection to a reader at a time.

PIN UX

For security reasons, the pin pad doesn’t always appear in the centre of the screen. It appears in a randomly determined position.

An off-centre pin pad is expected behaviour.

Best practices and promotion guidelines

Ensure an optimal user experience by considering the following:

• Connect to the reader in the background on app startup to reduce wait times when collecting a payment.
• Use automatic reconnection to reconnect to the reader when the app comes to the foreground to reduce wait times.
• Provide merchant education to guide your users on how to accept contactless payments on a compatible Android device, including in-product promotion and text or email alerts.
• Launch and promote your Tap to Pay on Android marketing campaigns using our messaging templates and design assets. Become a Stripe Partner here to access these assets in the partner portal.