Apple said on Tuesday that the iPhone would soon have a Tap to Pay feature that takes contactless cards and allows consumers to pay simply tapping their phones together.
Apple’s new announcement
With the introduction of the new Tap to Pay function for iPhone, the smartphone will be transformed into a contactless payment terminal, according to Apple’s announcement. According to the business, retailers in the United States will be able to take Apple Pay and other contactless payments, including Google Pay, later this year by utilizing an iPhone and an iOS app that has been enabled by a partner.
The functionality will be available on the iPhone XS and subsequent versions. Tap to Pay on the iPhone will be available for payment platforms and app developers to add into their iOS applications as a payment option for their clients starting in the second quarter of 2018. Customers will be able to use Tap to Pay on their iPhones thanks to a new Shopify app, which will be provided by Stripe as the first payment provider to do so. Apple has said that other payment systems and applications would be released later this year.
Once Tap to Pay for iPhone is available, retailers will be able to make contactless payments using an iOS app that is compatible with the service. While checking out, the merchant will request that the consumer hold their iPhone or Apple Watch close to the merchant’s iPhone, and the payment will be made securely utilizing NFC technology as part of the transaction.
Apple’s contactless payment
Accepting contactless payments does not need the purchase of any extra hardware. Apple also claims that using the iPhone’s Tap to Pay function, consumers’ payment information is safeguarded and that all transactions that are completed using the feature are protected by encryption.
While Apple has named Stripe, an Irish-American fintech, as the first platform to support the iPhone’s Tap to Pay functionality, the firm also said that “other payment systems and applications will follow later this year.”
Coinbase, a prominent crypto exchange, merged with Apple Pay and Google Pay in August 2021, enabling customers to buy crypto assets on the platform. As reported by the pressmen, the move enabled users in the United States to buy cryptocurrency using bank-issued debit and credit cards using Apple Pay, a mainstream payment channel.
Coinbase released Coinbase Card in June 2021, allowing customers to spend cryptocurrency in a variety of ways, including:
“Coinbase will automatically convert all cryptocurrency to US Dollars and transfer the funds to your Coinbase Card (less conversion fees) for use in purchases and ATM withdrawals.”
Crypto exchange Crypto.com followed suit and announced the Crypto.com Visa Card, which can be used with Apple Pay and other major digital wallets. In their statement, Apple stated:
“Tap to Pay on iPhone will work with contactless credit and debit cards from leading payment networks, including American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa.”
Apple Pay customers will be able to utilize the iPhone’s Tap to Pay function to make crypto payments across conventional retailers and companies, thanks to Coinbase’s ability to convert a user’s crypto holdings to fiat in real-time for payments.
While Apple Pay is unlikely to enable direct purchases of goods and services using Bitcoin (BTC), it will convert the user’s crypto holdings to the dollar amount required by the merchant’s POS machine.
Let’s not forget that Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged his own cryptocurrency purchases in November 2021 as “part of a diversified portfolio,” while stating that there are no imminent intentions to use crypto as a form of payment for Apple goods.
The Tap to Pay function will be available at Apple Stores, as well as on iPhone XS and subsequent smartphones.
The Bitcoin Lightning Network is now compatible with Cash App, a mobile payment application created and owned by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Block.
Lightning Network is now available on Cash App. It’s the fastest, free way to pay anyone in bitcoin.Buy tacos, tip your favorite Twitter comedian, or send a friend money abroad—anywhere that accepts lightning. — Cash App (@CashApp) February 7, 2022
Cash App customers will be able to conduct speedier BTC transactions across mainstream companies now that the new functionality has been released. Apart from New York, the corporation has made the functionality accessible throughout the United States, according.
