[Google Wallet may soon go through some changes that will require users to confirm the transaction with a PIN every time they attempt to make a tap-to-pay transaction.

Recently, Google Wallet has been making some changes to its tap-to-pay system.

Recently, Wallet added additional authentication to transit payments to make the process more secure without sacrificing the convenience of the process. Unfortunately, Google Wallet then decided to reset the authentication clock every three minutes, regardless of what the phone was doing. Now it appears that this same annoying system may be introduced into Wear OS.

Previously, Wear OS smartwatches required a PIN to use Google Wallet and had to be re-authenticated every time someone took the watch off. Now, some Reddit users report that they need to authenticate for every transaction they perform on their watches.

The user who first reported this claims to be from Asia, but users from Europe and the US have also commented. Some users claim that this authentication method has been in place for years, but many users assert that the system of authenticating each time is completely new.

Android Police speculates that this may be a bug, thanks to Google globally implementing verification rules that require near constant verification on every transaction. The associated support page makes no mention of smartwatch transactions, focusing instead on cell phone payments.

For years, this hourly verification system has been the norm for non-transportation payments in the U.S., but contactless security is a bit looser in places like Europe. Typically, small transactions can be made without authentication, although the total amount varies from country to country. In the UK it is £100, but in Germany the limit is €50 per transaction, and in Belgium €25.

Therefore, even for small transactions below the legal limit for contactless payments, the procedure may be a bit cumbersome for those who are not familiar with it, as they are forced to confirm each payment. Although, those who use Apple Pay have already had to do this for several years. The problem is that smartwatches should make contactless transactions much easier. One simply taps the watch onto a reader without having to take out one's wallet or phone.

Therefore, adding an extra authentication step would only make the process more complicated. Thus, we hope this is a bug and that Wear OS reverts back to the old system where you could tap on the small screen without having to type in a PIN number.