The best mobile payment apps, according to hackers
17 mobile payment apps were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 5 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended mobile payment apps with the badge. Each figure is 2 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Works on GrapheneOS and de-Googled phones
People recommend it as a tap-to-pay card that works on GrapheneOS and other de-Googled phones. The most common caveat is poor support and account verification problems.
Nationwide payments across Sweden
Sweden's widely used mobile payment app for bank transfers between people; praised for free person-to-person payments. Main caveats: occasional downtime and fees.
Better than Visa and credit cards
People recommend Alipay for paying by phone QR code without cards, for transit, and for tourists in China, often calling it better than Visa. Critics point to weak software, payment limits, and dependence on the phone.
All 17 mobile payment apps, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wero | 84 | 96 | 47% | 11 | — | — |
| 2 | Apple Pay | 73 | 48 | 60% | 12 | — | — |
| 3 | Apple Wallet | 58 | 63 | 48% | 10 | — | — |
| 4 | Google Pay | 26 | 33 | 44% | 11 | — | — |
| Tied 5 | Google Wallet | 22 | 34 | 39% | 8 | — | — |
| Tied 5 | Curve Pay | 22 | 11 | 67% | 8 | — | Approved |
| 7 | Swish payment app | 19 | 6 | 76% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 8 | Zelle | 15 | 21 | 42% | 9 | — | — |
| 9 | Venmo | 13 | 21 | 38% | 7 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | Alipay | 12 | 5 | 71% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Tied 10 | Cash App | 12 | 31 | 28% | 6 | — | — |
| 12 | Bizum | 11 | 3 | 79% | 5 | — | Approved |
| 13 | M-PESA | 10 | 1 | 91% | 4 | — | Approved |
| 14 | Tikkie | 8 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| 15 | WeChat Pay | 7 | 1 | 88% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Vipps | 6 | 3 | 67% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Twint | 6 | 3 | 67% | 3 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same mobile payment app in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to mobile payment apps that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.