Google Wallet may soon let users tighten the screws on contactless payments, according to Android Authority. Evidence points to new verification settings that would let you require an identity check before a tap-to-pay transaction goes through.

The trade-off is the classic one: security versus friction. Today, the appeal of tap-to-pay is that it's nearly instant — hold the phone to the terminal and walk away. Requiring verification for every transaction would close a gap for anyone worried about a lost or stolen phone being used at a register, but it also means unlocking or confirming before each purchase.

As Android Authority frames it, contactless payments could become either more secure or more annoying, depending on how users configure the option — which is precisely the point of making it a setting rather than a default. Users who prize speed can presumably leave things as they are, while the security-conscious get a new lever to pull.

The feature hasn't rolled out broadly, so details on how granular the controls will be — per-transaction, per-amount, or all-or-nothing — remain unconfirmed.