From Apple iPhones to New York City subway turnstiles, tap-to-pay use in everyday American life is growing, thanks in part to its security and ease of use. But tap-to-pay and its small near field communication antennas are more complicated than they look.

WSJ takes you inside one of Square’s card readers to break down the tech that works in seconds to power contactless payments.

0:00 How are contactless payments made possible?
0:37 How near field communication antennas work to create tap-to-pay tech
4:29 The history of tap-to-pay technology
5:48 How contactless payments are expanding into more parts of everyday life

Tech Behind
'The Tech Behind' explores the amazing engineering, computing, science and algorithms that power our favorite tech.

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