Tap to Pay will allow businesses and individuals to make contactless payments through their iPhones and an iOS application
Apple has announced plans to introduce a new Tap to Pay feature for iPhone that turns the device into a contactless payment terminal. The company says that later this year, U.S. merchants will be able to accept Apple Pay and other contactless payments, including Google Pay, through the use of an iPhone and a partner-enabled iOS app. This advancement will mean an improved user experience when making payment transactions.
The launch of Tap to Pay comes at the same time that Apple has announced a new program called Express Transit for iPhone users with transportation cards. The program allows users to register their transportation cards on their iPhone, allowing them to use the Tap to Pay feature to pay without having to open their wallet and select the correct card. And this is just one of the many applications that this revolutionary feature can bring to contactless payment.
Once Tap to Pay is launched on iPhone, merchants will be able to unlock contactless payment acceptance through a compatible iOS app. Upon checkout, the merchant will ask the customer to hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near the merchant’s iPhone and the payment will be completed securely using NFC technology. Apple also says that with Tap to Pay on iPhone, customers’ payment data is protected and all transactions made through the feature are encrypted.
According to Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet at Apple, “As more and more consumers tap to pay with digital wallets and credit cards, Tap to Pay on iPhone will give businesses a secure, private and easy way to accept contactless payments and unlock new payment experiences using the power, security and convenience of the iPhone.”
Apple plans to work closely with payment platforms and app developers to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to more merchants in the U.S. Tap to Pay on iPhone will work with contactless credit and debit cards from numerous payment networks, including American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa making it significantly easier for both businesses and individuals to make payment transactions.
