Paying with the Xiaomi Watch S5: NFC with limitations

The Xiaomi Watch S5 (buy it here on Amazon) features NFC and can generally be used for contactless payments. To do this, Xiaomi relies on its own payment service, Xiaomi Pay. According to Xiaomi, Visa and Mastercard cards are supported in Europe. However, which cards can actually be used depends on the region and the specific bank. In Germany, the selection is correspondingly limited. Many common German bank cards cannot be used directly with Xiaomi Pay. For example, if you already use your debit or credit card with Google Wallet, you cannot simply add it to the Watch S5.

The main drawback: The Watch S5 does not support Google Wallet or Google Pay. This means it lacks one of the most important and widely used ways to make contactless payments with a smartwatch. As a result, the built-in NFC hardware feels somewhat underutilized in everyday use. While it is technically possible to pay directly from your wrist with a compatible card, this feature heavily depends on whether your bank and card are compatible with Xiaomi Pay. The S5 therefore does not serve as a universal replacement for paying via smartphone or smartwatch using Google Wallet.

In addition, Xiaomi restricts the availability of NFC payments by region. Users should therefore check before purchasing whether their specific card or bank is actually supported. For users with a compatible Mastercard, Xiaomi Pay can be quite convenient: The card is stored on the watch, and payments can then be made directly at the terminal.