They're NFC chips, so it can still be affected by a variable magnetic field.
this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2026
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Isn't the NFC part the tap and pay thing?
abrasive rubbing on the contacts of all the cards? It is probably mechanical if the NFC still works.
There are marks on some of them, so that was my first thought. I do keep my wallet in my back pocket, so I am sitting on it whenever I sit down.
That'll do it, not to mention the act of it rubbing every time you put it in and pull it out, especially if it's pretty full.
Tap and pay uses the NFC coil for communication with the payment device. Inserting the card uses the contact pads on the surface of the card to do the same thing. If the coil is working but the contacts aren't you are probably looking at something interfering with the actual contact with the pads.
A few options spring to mind but we have the complicating factor of multiple cards being impacted at the same time. If it had impacted only one card I would ask if you perhaps had something like hand lotion or grease that could have gotten onto the card surface, but given multiple cards are impacted I would consider corrosion a possibility. If your wallet is in a sweaty place the moisture can corrode the surface and make it nonconductive, stopping it from working when inserted.
To test and fix this try rubbing the contacts with a clean, dry cloth vigorously. You want to basically polish the contacts and see a change in colour, back to the usual gold surface you had when you got the card. Hopefully that is all you need.