Apple just announced plans to roll out Tap to Pay on iPhone, allowing businesses to use mobile devices as a payment terminal for contactless payments. A report from 2020 noted Apple’s acquisition of a startup, Mobeewave, focused on building this technology, and a rumor from the same outlet in January revealed it was getting close to a rollout.
Tap to Pay on iPhone isn’t ready for you to use today but the supporting API has arrived today in the iOS 15.4 beta 2, potentially enabling the feature on iPhone XS and later models. There are older iPhones with NFC, but at least for now, the iPhone 6, 7, and 8 models are not on the compatible list. Apple says that just like Apple Pay, it does not know what is being purchased or who is buying it.
Apple confirmed that it will support all EMV contactless payments, including Google Pay, so as more options become available, the familiar Square card reader dongles could start to disappear.
According to Apple, all merchants will need to use their phones as payment acceptance systems to work with a compatible payment processor. Stripe will be first up, and it plans to support the feature in its Shopify point of sale app “this spring,” followed by other platforms and apps later this year. Apple Stores in the US will also have the feature enabled later this year.
