In February, the Cupertino tech giant first introduced the “Tap to Pay” feature. The feature enables a merchant with an iPhone to accept payments from Apple Pay, credit cards, or digital wallets. Most importantly, the merchant doesn’t need to use any other hardware besides his Apple smartphone. The feature is rolling out all over the US after debuting at the WWDC 2022 last week.
“Tap to Pay” uses near field communications (NFC), which presents a challenge for other mobile points of sale devices by companies like Square. Moreover, the Apple Stores in the US will first start using the feature. But, the company will also offer it to US-based businesses that want to use the platform. In addition, previously, Apple Stores were using modified iPhone units to accept credit cards. However, now only an iPhone handset with the latest iOS version will be enough to run a customer’s card. Likewise, customers must have an updated Apple iPhone with the latest iOS version to make secure payments.
Furthermore, developers will soon be able to add “Tap to Pay” to their iOS apps. Interestingly, Stripe, an online payment processing company, was the first to sign up to use the feature.
What’s more
When “Tap to Pay” was announced in February, the VP of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, Jennifer Bailey, said that the feature on an iPhone would be beneficial. Bailey said it would provide businesses with a secure, private, and easy way to accept contactless payments and unlock new checkout experiences.
Additionally, the “Tap to Pay” feature will work on the Apple models that launched in 2018. Thus, the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, or later will support the feature. Customers have to hold their iPhones or Apple Watches and their contactless credit/debit cards near the merchant’s iPhone to use the feature. Then, through NFC, the transaction gets completed. Easy peasy!
