Commonwealth Bank has today announced the Kaching app – its mobile banking application that let you pay bills via BPAY and transfer money – is now available for Android. However, while fans will get most of the features like their iOS counterparts, there is one thing missing – the ability to use MasterCard’s PayPass via NFC.
For some reason, despite the fact that the Galaxy Nexus – a phone that has NFC – is one of the few phones that are supported, CommBank has opted not to include that feature. Talking to Gizmodo, Chief Marketing Officer Andy Lark said that the reason was because Google and various device makers would not allow it to access the secure elements to authenticate transactions via NFC.
The iOS app supports NFC – however that is because it’s using an accessory to facilitate it. The iPhone itself does not have an NFC chip.
So what phones are supported? Well, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus S, most of the Galaxy phones (including the Ace, Note, Gio and W), the HTC Desire HD, One X, Sensation and the Incredible S. There are also reports that users on rooted devices aren’t able to access the device. According to one review by Rowdy:
Doesn’t work on Samsung galaxy s2 using cyanogen mod. Not supported.
You can download it here at the Google Play store.