Apple has unveiled a new software for iPhone which will allow merchants to accept Apple Pay and contactless payments on their iPhone.
The announcement signals a shift in Apple’s desire to launch a payment processing software – something they agreed not to do at the launch of the Apple card two years ago, in an effort to appease Visa and Mastercard.
Tap to Pay will put small business owners at the forefront, allowing any business which accepts Apple Pay or contactless, to use the software on an iPhone, with zero fees incurred.
The software will use Near-Field Communication (NFC), to accept all forms of contactless payment.
The move opens the possibility of Apple allowing for crypto currency payments to be made on its system, after the company allowed the crypto exchange company Coinbase to integrate Apple Pay into its system in August 2021.
With the Coinbase Card in the Apple Wallet next to well-known companies such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover, the announcement suggests that consumers could automatically convert their crypto into a dollar amount to pay for a purchase using Tap to Pay.
Although Apple Pay currently does not permit the direct payment of Bitcoin, the conversion of crypto to dollar payment could be a game-changer in utilizing crypto as an everyday source of payment, – making it easier and ultimately more accessible for daily use. In the long term, this has the potential to lead to more people adapting to the use of crypto as a legitimate source of payment.