Apple Announces 'Tap to Pay' Feature Allowing iPhones to Accept Contactless Payments Without Additional Hardware

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced plans to introduce a new "Tap to Pay on iPhone" feature that will allow compatible iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets, with no additional hardware required.

Apple said the feature will launch in the U.S. later this year and will allow merchants to accept contactless payments through supported iOS apps using an iPhone XS or newer. At checkout, the merchant will simply prompt the customer to hold their own iPhone or Apple Watch, contactless credit or debit card, or other digital wallet near the merchant's iPhone, and the payment will be securely completed using NFC technology.

Currently, merchants that accept contactless payments on an iPhone must rely on additional hardware like the Square Reader, which comes in various models that work wirelessly or connect to an iPhone's Lightning connector or headphone jack.

Stripe will be the first payment platform to offer "Tap to Pay on iPhone" to their business customers, including the Shopify Point of Sale app this spring, and additional payment platforms and apps will follow later this year, according to Apple. Apple Stores in the U.S. will also roll out the feature later this year. It appears that the feature will be exclusive to the U.S. at launch, with no other countries mentioned.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman exclusively revealed that Apple was planning this feature last month.

Article Link: Apple Announces 'Tap to Pay' Feature Allowing iPhones to Accept Contactless Payments Without Additional Hardware

 

[robinp]

“In the US”

Of course.

This sounds like a great feature. It should be available everywhere.

 

[MayaUser]

Beautiful, Samsung and others...your turn

 

[nepalisherpa]

“In the US”

Of course.

Well, regulations! It will be released to others as it gets approved.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗]

Woo hoo! The fact it's starting from iPhone XS is even better.

 

[robinp]

Well, regulations! It will be released to others as it gets approved.

Like Apple Card? Or Apple Cash?

 

[Techwatcher]

And just like that, Venmo is in trouble.

 

[teknikal90]

Wow bye square

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗]

And just like that, Venmo and Cash App are dead lol.

Along with so many other vendors such as PayPal, Zelle, Square.

 

[GMShadow]

I wonder how this will work with the IRS reporting rules.

 

[FSMBP]

Does that include iPhone SE 2020?

 

[bunty]

I wonder if this is part of Apple's incremental solution to letting companies use payment systems "outside" of the App Store. I'm keeping an eye on Square's (Block's) stock price for sure. Ark Invest must be panicking right about now.

 

[yellow8]

"Tap to pay"
Don't tap too hard, or you will have to pay for a new iPhone.

 

[nepalisherpa]

Like Apple Card? Or Apple Cash?

Blame the country....not Apple. Don't you think Apple would benefit more if these were released to more countries?

 

[Colton Mathis]

I highly doubt Square, CashApp, Venmo, PayPal, etc. will have much trouble... This isn't a native iOS solution. It relies on other apps for this functionality. So if anything, it could be a boost to the other platforms if they enable support for this.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

This is pretty awesome. Shame it took so long to get here.

I assume I’ll still be seeing those stupid square readers for years though.

 

[jicon]

Too bad this couldn't be extended back to the 6S and 7. They too have NFC capability already (including write abilities through apps), so I'd imagine its possible. But, I understand the business decision to cut product support at year five when this goes live later this year. Maybe this is a likely indicator iOS 16 won't be making it to those devices.

 

[B-Mc-C]

Pretty obvious that this is going to be enabled for apps like Square and PayPal. It literally says will work with supporting apps. Square and PayPal do not make much money on the physical swipe device, it’s all about the transaction fees.

 

[ouimetnick]

And just like that, Venmo is in trouble.

If it’s an API, Venmo could integrate it so I could pay a friend by bringing my phone very close to their phone instead of looking them up. Doubt Venmo has anything to worry about.

 

[Colton Mathis]

Pretty obvious that this is going to be enabled for apps like Square and PayPal. It literally says will work with supporting apps. Square and PayPal do not make much money on the physical swipe device, it’s all about the transaction fees.

Exactly. If anything, this feature will benefit those companies -- not kill them.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗]

Pretty obvious that this is going to be enabled for apps like Square and PayPal. It literally says will work with supporting apps. Square and PayPal do not make much money on the physical swipe device, it’s all about the transaction fees.

I think the point is people may not be using other vendors anymore since "Tap to Pay" will get the job done.

 

[nattK]

And just like that, Venmo is in trouble.

Not necessarily. It looks like an SDK which means Venmo could integrate into its own app to accept Venmo transactions through taps. This feature is NOT limited to Apple Pay.

 

[orbital~debris]

Curious that Apple talk about this upcoming feature instead of it being a mention or segment in an event.

I wonder why?

 

[jarman92]

Wow bye square

"Stripe will be the first payment platform to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to their business customers, including Shopify, and additional payment platforms and apps will follow later this year..."

I think it's pretty clear that Square will be able to use this feature, too.

 

[splitpea]

I assume there will be some sort of auth/approval step?