Near Field Communications (NFC) Demo

App Inventor supports very basic Near Field Communications (NFC) capability, allowing the reading and writing of text tags. NFC is the short range communications protocol that underlies contactless payments ('tap to pay') capabilities on credit and debit cards, as well as services like Samsung Pay that allow a phone to be used for payments. It's also used in Leap Cards, office access badges, and hotel room keycards.

An app to read and wite NFC tags has been added to the UniTY section of the App Library. Some things to consider before trying out the app:

1. NFC is not supported on Amazon Fire tablets, but is supported on many Android phones.
2. NFC tags must already be configured as Text Tags to work with this app; this can be done with an app such as NFC Tools, as most NFC tags are blank when purchased.
3. NFC tags can be purchased directly from companies such as ZipNFC or through their eBay store for under 50c each, plus postage.