How to Turn On NFC on Android for Tap to Give

How Do You Turn On NFC on an Android Phone?

Turning on NFC takes about a minute. The wording differs slightly between phone brands, but this three-step path works on every version of Android, and it is the same setting whether you want to tap to pay, tap to give, or read an NFC tag.

1. Open Settings. Swipe down and tap the gear icon, or open the Settings app from your app drawer.
2. Search for NFC. Tap the search bar at the top of Settings and type NFC. This jumps you straight to the toggle without hunting through menus, which is the single fastest way on any phone.
3. Toggle NFC on. Tap the NFC result and switch it on. If you also see "Contactless payments" or "Tap and pay," you can leave those as they are; the plain NFC toggle is all you need to tap and give.

That is the whole job. NFC uses almost no battery when it is idle, so it is safe to leave on all the time. With it enabled, your phone can now read the NFC tap plates on the pew in front of you, the same way it already taps a card reader at the store.

Where NFC Lives on Samsung, Pixel, and Other Phones

If you would rather navigate the menus than search, the NFC toggle sits in a slightly different place on each brand. Here is where to switch on NFC on the most common phones.

Many phones also let you add an NFC tile to the quick-settings shade you pull down from the top of the screen, so you can flip it on and off with one tap in the future. Once it is on, contactless giving works exactly like tapping your card, just aimed at a plate instead of a terminal.

Does the iPhone Need NFC Turned On?

No, and this trips up a lot of people who assume iPhone and Android work the same way. Every iPhone since the iPhone XS in 2018 keeps NFC reading on all the time, so there is no switch to find. An iPhone user just unlocks the phone, holds the top edge near the plate, and taps the notification that pops up.

Older models from the iPhone 7 through iPhone X can still read a plate, but they use the NFC scanner in Control Center rather than reading it in the background. In practice, if someone in your congregation has any iPhone from the last several years, tap to give simply works with zero setup. That is worth mentioning from the stage so iPhone users do not go looking for a setting that does not exist.

How Do You Know If Your Phone Has NFC?

The quickest test is to search NFC in your Settings app. If a toggle appears, your phone has the chip. If nothing comes up, your phone probably lacks it, though that is rare on anything made in the last decade.

Roughly 95 percent of smartphones in use today include NFC, because it is the same chip that powers Apple Pay and Google Pay. For the small number of guests with an older or budget phone that has no NFC, every Tap.Giving plate also carries a QR code, and cash and check still work as they always have. Nobody is left out. If you are weighing the two entry points, our comparison of QR codes versus NFC for church giving breaks down when each one wins.

Why Won't My Phone Tap to Give Even With NFC On?

If NFC is on and the plate still does nothing, the fix is almost always one of these. Run through them in order and a stubborn tap usually starts working.

If none of that works, check that the phone is not in airplane mode and that the plate face is clean. Well-made NFC tap plates are sealed and rated to last for years of taps, which is why we cover how long NFC giving plates last in a separate guide.

What NFC Has to Do With Church Giving

If you searched how to switch on NFC because a giving plate at church would not respond, here is the whole picture. NFC, short for near-field communication, is the short-range wireless standard that lets two devices talk when they are within about an inch. It is what makes tap to pay work, and it is what makes tap to give work.

A Tap.Giving plate is an NFC tap plate programmed with your church's giving URL. When a member taps their phone, the plate hands over that link and the phone opens your giving page in its browser. There is no app to download and no account to create, and the whole tap to donate flow takes about 8 seconds. Because the plate simply opens a web page, it works with whatever platform you already use, including Tithely, Pushpay, Subsplash, Donorbox, Givelify, and Anedot. We sell the hardware; your platform keeps handling the money. If you want the full walkthrough, how tap to give works for churches covers the giver experience end to end, and NFC giving explained goes deeper on the technology itself.

The cost is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Plates run $4.50 each for 100-199, $4.00 each for 200-399, and $3.50 each for 400 or more, with free shipping and no monthly fees. A 200-seat church ordering 200 plates pays $800 once, and The first-order discount is 10% for 14 days from first contact. See the full breakdown on our pricing page, or read more about the hardware on the NFC FAQ.

This kind of church giving technology only helps if your congregation knows to tap, so it is worth a quick word from the front on launch Sunday. When you are ready, start your order and tell us your platform, and every plate will open the right giving page before it ships. Delivery typically runs 2-3 weeks from artwork approval with free shipping.

FAQ: Turning On NFC