Bitcoin payments are getting a contactless upgrade.
Numo has launched a new tap-to-pay point-of-sale app that enables merchants to accept bitcoin with an experience similar to Apple Pay and Google Pay — all without requiring additional hardware. The free, open-source Android app is now available as a direct APK download, with a release on the Google Play Store expected soon.
Built on Cashu, an open-source ecash protocol for Bitcoin, Numo uses NFC functionality already present in most Android devices.
During checkout, a customer’s Cashu wallet reads an NFC tag emulated by the merchant’s phone and writes back a payment token. The entire interaction takes just a few seconds, delivering a smooth, familiar tap-to-pay experience.
In addition to Cashu payments, Numo supports Lightning invoices over the Lightning Network, making it compatible with any Lightning-enabled Bitcoin wallet. This dual functionality broadens its usability for both ecash and standard Lightning users.
Bitcoin payments as easy as tapping your phone
Designed with merchants in mind, Numo settles payments in Cashu ecash held on a mint. Merchants can configure an automatic withdrawal threshold so that once their balance reaches a predefined amount, funds are automatically swept to their own Lightning address without manual intervention. This feature aims to streamline treasury management while preserving self-custody principles.
The app also includes built-in inventory management, payment history tracking, offline payment support and tipping functionality. Integration with BTCPay Server is currently in development, which could further expand its appeal among merchants already using self-hosted Bitcoin payment infrastructure.
Numo charges zero platform fees, allowing merchants to retain the full value of each transaction. The project is fully open source under the MIT license and is being developed with support from OpenCash.
“Bitcoin payments should be as easy as tapping your phone,” the team said in a statement. “Numo makes that a reality today, on any NFC-enabled Android device.”
As competition grows among Bitcoin-native payment solutions, Numo’s hardware-free, open-source approach may appeal to merchants seeking a low-cost, self-sovereign alternative to traditional payment rails.
Cashu is an open-source ecash protocol built on Bitcoin that uses blind signatures to enable privacy-preserving custodial payments without requiring any changes to the base layer.
By connecting independent mints over the Lightning Network and incorporating programmable token scripts, Cashu aims to offer users a more private, flexible alternative to traditional custodial wallets.
