alt Hacker NewsIt's not about credit/debit, it's about phone/card. Americans tend to use "credit card" as a generic term for payment cards.
And yes, phone NFC payment is one of those technically unnecessary conveniences that's really easy to get used to. You probably already have your phone out or at least accessible in like one second, paying with it instead of pulling out your wallet and finding a card or even cash is just sooo nice. I hate that I've gotten this used to it.
That being said, you can still get NFC payment on a rooted or reflashed phone. Instead of Google Wallet, find a bank or card provider that has their own app. I use the Curve "proxy card" and it works fine.
In my case sliding my card out of my wallet is faster than unlocking my phone given the lack of consistency of the fingerprint reader of my google pixel when using my smartphone case (and I am too clumsy to use a smartphone without a case covering both sides, broke too many screenw already). Some people just leave the card on their smartphone case too.
I also see a lot of people struggling because they need to pay while being on a call or because their smartphone is just way too big to be handled comfortably with one hand given the size of their hands.