The rumor of Apple bringing direct, contactless payment features that won’t require any additional hardware to the iPhone has been made official in a new announcement. Apple’s new Tap to Pay feature will let small businesses and retailers accept Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, or other digital wallets with a tap to their iPhone. According to the announcement, Tap to Pay won’t require the use of external devices (i.e., Square readers) or additional payment terminals. Payment platforms and app developers will be able to offer the payment option directly through iOS app integration instead, with a Stripe point of sale app for Shopify mentioned as the first. Apple also states that other payment platforms and apps will be added to the Tap to Pay list later in 2022 and that it will work with most major credit cards that offer contactless payments, such as American Express and Visa. It goes on to state that “Apple will work closely with leading payment platforms and app developers across the payments and commerce industry to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to millions of merchants in the US.” However, there’s no mention of what the terms might be for these third-party payment platforms to utilize Apple’s Tap to Pay functionality. Merchants will be able to accept contactless payments simply by opening up an iOS app that supports it then tapping it against the customer’s iOS device, contactless card, or digital wallet. The transaction will then proceed using the NFC technology already built into recent iPhone models (iPhone XS and newer), Apple Watches, and other contactless payment methods. For now, Tap to Pay doesn’t have a specified availability date, but Apple has stated that an upcoming iOS beta will open the option up to participating platforms and their partners. It also plans to roll out Tap to Pay in Apple Stores in the US later this year.
