NFC is no longer a flagship-only extra. It has become one of the baseline checkboxes smartphone buyers look for, alongside a decent camera and a battery that lasts the day. This is true even at the low end of the market — a trend that has only accelerated through 2026, as more manufacturers ship the chip in their entry-level lineups by default.
In this article, we focus on affordable models rather than the priciest luxury phones. There are, of course, plenty of high-end phones with NFC too, e.g. the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, the OnePlus 15, the latest Xiaomi numbered flagships, but most people don’t need to spend too much money just to tap and pay.
What Does NFC Mean in a Smartphone?
NFC meaning, in short: Near Field Communication is a short-range wireless technology that lets two compatible devices exchange data when held close together, usually within a few centimeters. On a smartphone, it’s what allows contactless payments through services like Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet, transit card top-ups, quick device pairing, and reading or writing NFC tags. To pay in a store, a phone owner typically just needs to unlock the device and hold it near a POS terminal. There’s no card, no cash, and no PIN pad required in most cases.
Best Budget Smartphones with NFC
Samsung
Galaxy A17 5G
The Galaxy A17 5G has taken over from the Galaxy A16 5G as Samsung’s best-selling budget model, and it’s easy to see why. It comes with a 6.7-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display running at a 90Hz refresh rate, an Exynos 1330 chipset, up to 8GB of RAM, and storage configurations reaching 256GB with a microSD slot for further expansion. The triple rear camera pairs a 50MP main sensor with optical image stabilization, a 5MP ultrawide, and a 2MP macro lens, alongside a 13MP selfie camera. Battery capacity sits at 5,000 mAh with 25W fast charging. NFC is built in for Samsung Wallet tap-to-pay, and the phone carries an IP54 rating plus a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. Pricing generally lands between $170 and $250, depending on storage and region.
Galaxy A27 5G and A37 5G
For buyers wanting a bit more screen or storage headroom without moving up to Samsung’s mid-range S-lineup, the A27 5G and A37 5G sit just above the A17 in Samsung’s current budget stack, carrying over NFC support, AMOLED displays, and multi-year software update commitments as standard.
Motorola
Moto G Power (2026)
Motorola’s Moto G Power (2026) is aimed squarely at buyers who prioritize battery life and durability over raw horsepower. It’s built around a 6.8-inch IPS LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,000-nit peak brightness, a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of expandable storage. The rear camera setup pairs a 50MP main sensor with optical image stabilization and an 8MP ultrawide lens, while the front houses a 32MP selfie camera. Its 5,200 mAh battery supports 30W wired and 15W wireless charging — a rarity at this price point. The device is MIL-STD-810H rated for drop and environmental resistance, carries an IP68/IP69 rating, and includes NFC alongside a 3.5mm headphone jack. It launched in the US at $299.99.
Moto G (2026)
Sitting a step below the Power model, the standard Moto G (2026) keeps NFC, a 6.7-inch display, and a 5,200 mAh battery, trading down on charging speed and camera resolution to hit a lower price bracket.
Xiaomi
Redmi Note 15 Pro
Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 15 Pro continues the Redmi Note line’s reputation for packing mid-range hardware into a genuinely affordable shell. It’s built around a 6.83-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultra chipset with up to 8GB of RAM. The headline camera spec is a 200MP main sensor paired with an 8MP secondary lens and a 20MP front camera. A large 6,580 mAh battery supports 45W fast charging. The phone is IP68 rated, includes an in-display fingerprint reader, and comes with NFC as standard. US pricing sits around $325 for the base 256GB configuration.
Redmi Note 15 Pro+
The Plus variant steps up to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset, a 32MP selfie camera, and 100W charging, while keeping the same display, NFC support, and IP68 rating — a reasonable upgrade path for buyers willing to spend closer to $350.
Nothing (CMF)
CMF Phone 2 Pro
Nothing’s budget sub-brand CMF corrected one of its predecessor’s biggest omissions with the Phone 2 Pro: NFC is now built in, enabling Google Wallet tap-to-pay. Beyond that fix, the phone brings a 6.77-inch AMOLED display at 120Hz, a MediaTek Helio G100 Ultra-class chipset (marketed as MediaTek 7300 Pro), 8GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage. Its triple rear camera includes a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP 2x telephoto lens, and an 8MP ultrawide — an unusually complete setup for a phone in this price bracket. A 5,000 mAh battery with 33W fast charging rounds out the package, alongside an IP54 rating and Nothing’s distinctive modular accessory system. It’s priced from roughly $233 to $279 depending on the market and configuration.
A Growing List
This is far from an exhaustive roundup. This article reflects just a price-to-quality read of the current budget market rather than a full catalog. Flagship-tier phones with NFC remain widely available too, from Samsung’s Galaxy S26 series to the latest Google Pixel and Huawei models, and of course iPhones of different generations that have their own digital wallet to cater for. Since NFC first started appearing in budget phones, the baseline changed significantly, though. Contactless payment support is now closer to a default expectation than a premium feature, even among the best budget smartphones on the market. Anyone assembling a shortlist of the best smartphones 2026 has to offer, at any price tier, can now safely assume NFC will be part of the package. Furthermore, NFC is also increasingly present in the wearable tech. Check out our Top 6 Wearable Payment Devices list.
