Apple has recently announced its plans to launch the all-new ‘Tap to Pay’ feature on the iPhone platform. The revolutionary ‘Tap to Pay’ feature for iPhone will be helpful in turning the device into a contactless terminal for accepting payments.
As per the reports of Apple, during the later part of year, the merchants in the United States will be capable of accepting Apple Pay along with other contactless forms of payments. This feature will include Google Pay acceptance as well. All such contactless payments will be accepted with the help of iPhone and a third-party partner iOS app.
Understanding the ‘Tap to Pay’ Feature
The Tap to Pay feature will be enabled for relatively recent iPhone models like iPhone XS and later. Tap to Pay on iPhone devices will be made available to app developers and payment platforms to integrate into iOS apps as a leading payment option. For instance, Stripe will be one of the first payment platforms that will offer Tap to Pay on iOS devices to its customers with the help of the all-new Shopify app. Apple adds that additional payment applications and platforms will also follow at a later point in the year.
Once the functionality of Tap to Pay has been launched, merchants will be capable of unlocking the capability of contactless payment acceptance with supporting iOS applications. During the checkout process, merchants will ask customers to hold their Apple Watch or iPhone near the iPhone of the merchant. The payment will then be completed in a secure fashion with the help of the NFC technology. The best part is that there is no requirement for any additional hardware to accept contactless payments.
Apple also revealed that with the Tap to Pay on iPhone, payment data for customers remains protected throughout. All transactions in the process are made with the help of secure encryption.
Apple and Tap to Pay Feature
The tech giant revealed that Apple Pay has already been accepted by over 90 percent of retailers across the United States. As such, the all-new capability of the Tap to Pay feature by Apple will enable customers to experience seamless check-out processes. Tap to Pay on iPhone will also be rolling out on subsequent locations of the Apple Store in the United States at a later date in 2022. Apple plans of working closely with app developers and payment platforms to release the Tap to Pay solution on iPhone to merchants across the country. Tap to Pay by Apple will work in collaboration with contactless debit cards and credit cards from different payment networks – including Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.
Jennifer Bailey, Vice President at Apple for Apple Pay & Apple Wallet, said in a statement that as more consumers continue tapping to make payments with credit cards and digital wallets, the feature of Tap to Pay on iPhone will offer businesses a private, easy, and secure way to accept contactless payments. It will also help the customer experience with the overall convenience, security, and power of the iPhone. Apple adds that Tap to Pay feature will be made available only to participating payment platforms. It will also be available for app developers and partners in the upcoming iOS software beta.
Understanding the Working of Apple Tap to Pay
Apple Tap to Pay will enable users to make use of mobile phones as secure payment terminals. It is believed that the acquisition of the startup Mobeewave is the foundation for the all-new technology.
The feature will support payments from Apple Pay, contactless debit & credit cards, and subsequent digital wallets. Previously businesses that accepted contactless payments on iPhone were expected to use third-party hardware like Square Reader dongle.
Currently, the feature of Tap to Pay on iPhone will be limited to merchants and businesses that would like to accept contactless payments with the help of supported iOS apps on iPhone XS and later models. Apple has stated that all merchants will require iPhones to accept as well as process payments.
Businesses Supporting Tap to Pay on iPhone
Stripe announced that it will be the first company to offer the Tap to Pay functionality on iPhone to business customers. It will also include the Shopify POS or Point of Sale app during spring 2022.
In April 2022, Adyen, a leading Dutch payment processing firm, was also added to the compatible list. Additional payment apps and platforms will be following in the coming year as per the reports from Apple. Apple Stores in the United States will also be rolling out the feature very soon.
Tap to Pay by Apple will be introduced in the United States later on in the 2022. It will be an exclusive feature to the US at launch. There has been no announcement made regarding any other country. While the feature of Tap to Pay is not available for immediate use, the supporting API will be made available in iOS 15.4 to enable the feature on the iPhone XS models and later.
