Reports from the Heart of the Machine
Edit: Zenan
On e-wallets, Apple is no longer closed.
Tap to Pay, which will soon be installed on the iPhone, is an advanced contactless payment method that seamlessly connects Apple Pay, contactless credit cards, debit cards, and other e-wallets. For merchants, there is no need to swipe the card machine to collect payments, only a mobile phone, without any other hardware.
On February 8, Apple announced its Tap to Pay program, which allows businesses to use mobile devices as payment terminals for contactless payments.
According to reports, the new feature will enable millions of merchants in the United States (from small businesses to large retailers) to receive and pay seamlessly and securely through a simple iPhone touch. Tap to Pay on the iPhone will allow payment platform and app developers to integrate the new approach into their iOS apps, as well as a payment option for all business customers.
A Bloomberg 2020 report noted that Apple acquired a startup, Mobeewave, which focuses on building contactless payment technology. Now, Apple has confirmed this feature, which can support a variety of payment methods from physical cards to digital wallets.
Although announced today, the Tap to Pay feature on the iPhone is scheduled to be officially launched before the end of the year, and the API for this feature has appeared in the current iOS 15.4 beta 2 system, supporting iPhone XS and higher phones. At least for now, there is NFC but older models such as the iPhone 6, 7, and 8 are not on the compatibility list.
Apple's new payment method can guarantee privacy as before, apple said that just like the original Apple Pay, Apple can not know the type of goods purchased or the purchase of information.
For domestic users, scanning two-dimensional codes or NFC payment methods have long been popular, and many people have learned to use mobile phones to recharge physical transportation cards. But in the U.S., contactless payments have yet to become mainstream. Apple's new technology may become a driving force for development.
Specifically, when checking out with Tap to Pay, merchants only need to ask consumers to hold an iPhone or Apple Watch to pay with Apple Pay, contactless credit cards, debit cards (American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa are supported), or other digital wallets supported by the merchant's iPhone, and the transaction can be completed securely through NFC technology. Accepting contactless payments on an iPhone via Tap to Pay requires no additional hardware, so businesses can accept payments wherever they do business.
More than 90 percent of U.S. retailers have embraced Apple Pay, and with this new feature, nearly every business, large and small, can get their customers to click pay on their iPhones at checkout. Tap to Pay on the iPhone will also be available at Apple Stores in the United States later this year.
More important than convenience, Apple has taken an open stance this time: Tap to Pay can be compatible with third-party e-wallets. Apple has confirmed to the media that Tap to Pay will support all EMV contactless payments, including Google Pay, so the familiar Square card reader may start to disappear as new options emerge.
Currently, merchants who accept contactless payments on iPhones must also rely on additional hardware like Square Reader, available in a variety of models that work wirelessly or connect to the iPhone's Lightning interface or headphone jack.
At the launch of Tap to Pay, Apple announced its first third-party collaborator: online payment solution provider Stripe will be the first to launch a compatible payment channel, with plans to support the feature in its Shopify point-of-sale app "this spring" and then launch additional platforms and apps later this year.
Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said in a statement announcing the feature: "Tap to Pay on the iPhone will provide businesses with a secure, private and simple way to accept contactless payments. By taking advantage of the security and convenience of iPhone, this feature will lead to a new checkout experience."
For reference:
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/02/apple-unveils-contactless-payments-via-tap-to-pay-on-iphone/
https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/8/22923463/apple-iphone-tap-to-pay-contactless-shopify-nfc
https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-allow-businesses-accept-contactless-payments-through-iphone-2022-02-08/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30259183