Google Wallet is working on a setting that would let you decide whether the app asks you to prove it is you again just before a contactless payment. The option sits under Tap to pay in the verification settings and has not been switched on for anyone yet.
Google’s own wording in the app reads: “All transactions require that your device be unlocked but you can choose to verify again right before you tap to pay.” So the setting adds a step for people who want one; it does not let anyone skip unlocking the phone.
Android Authority found the option in Google Wallet version 26.43.1009867093 and managed to enable it by hand. A few days earlier the same team had spotted the setting, but it crashed when opened; in this version it opens and carries explanatory text.
How it fits with the three-minute window
Wallet already lets you pay several times without verifying again if you unlocked your device within the last three minutes. After that window closes, you need to verify before the next payment.
Android Authority could not tell how the new toggle interacts with that window. It sees two possibilities: with the extra verification off, Wallet might allow payments even after three minutes have passed, while turning it on might demand a fresh check before every tap and override the window.
Neither is confirmed, and Google has not announced the setting. Features found by digging into an app’s code are sometimes changed or dropped before release.
Until Google rolls it out, the rule stays as it is: unlock the phone, tap, and if more than three minutes have passed since unlocking, verify again.
