Same here: I pay contactless with a Garmin vivoactive3. It cost $30 on Craigslist, runs for ~3 days without charging. My thought was that Garmin has less “ecosystem” and is less likely to be monetizing purchase history, vs. Samsung… but I don’t have any inside info.

I have the GarminConnect app in my “Google Crapola” profile, and for a few months I even deleted the app, and tap-to-pay on the watch kept working.

I tend to buy <$200usd phones and use for 4 years (so: ~$50/year). I’m on a Pixel6A now, and plan to upgrade to an 8A at EOL in summer 2027. An unlocked 8A in “good condition” is $255 now on Swappa, and would get updates until summer 2031, so that meets the $50/year metric.

I’ll be interested in GrapheneOS’s new partner, but I suspect only their brand new phone will work, so… I’ll consider it in 2031 :)

sorry, I think I was confusing bank transfers with credit card transactions.

There’s also the risk that credit card companies are claiming that fraud done using your phone app (for example, someone stole your unlocked phone(*)) is not covered, and you are on the hook for losses.

But stolen physical credit cards are always covered.

(*)EDIT: I thought I’d read a report that someone who had been mugged and forced to give their phone+PIN had an issue with their CC company; but it looks like this is mostly a problem with money transferred out of a bank account, not credit card purchases… and even then, hiring a lawyer will usually get the bank to pay-up.

I use several banks and several credit unions, and the only thing I can’t do with a laptop is deposit checks (which is getting pretty rare).

FinTech products like PayPal, Venmo, Cash.app, BlueBird and such often require a phone app, but aren’t regulated banks, and are best avoided when possible.

I have separate profiles:

• main user has no Google Play services or Gapps: just F-Droid apps and a couple of play store apps I use daily (anonymously via Aurora Store app)
• Aurora profile has other playstore apps that will run without Google Play Services
• PlayStore profile is for anything that requires full Google Play Services (banking, purchased apps)
• Work profile is full-on Google everyting (Google school)

• Location is on, but only shared with Organic Maps, FindMyDevice (FMD) and Transit.app
• USB port is power-only (no data).

Some compromises I’ve made:

• I have fingerprint unlock enabled (but not on my password vault or PlayStore/Banking profile)
• I tap-to-pay with a Garmin watch ( you only need the Garmin app to set-up the credit card, then it can be deleted )

But… I think starting-out, don’t worry about it. If you load all the same apps as on your old phone, into a single main profile, it’ll still be a huge improvement.