Apple will let businesses use iPhones to take customer payments

Will Fear | UPDATE 2 08, 2022 11:39 EST

Payment processor Stripe will be the first platform to offer this facility to its customers, including Shopify’s point-of-sale app.

Apple Inc. said it will launch a tap-to-pay feature that allows businesses and retailers to use an iPhone to accept Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards as well as other digital wallets without any other hardware. will allow.

Apple on Tuesday said the feature will be made available to payment platforms and app developers to integrate it into its iOS apps and to offer it as a payment option to business customers.

With this feature, merchants will be able to accept payments from customers by holding their iPhone or Apple Watch near the merchant’s iPhone to pay with a digital wallet such as Apple Pay or a contactless credit or debit card.

Apple said payment processor Stripe Inc. will be the first platform to offer features to its customers this spring, including Shopify’s point-of-sale app. Other payment platforms and apps will start offering this feature later this year, the company said.

“Tap to Pay on the iPhone will provide businesses with a secure, private and easy way to accept contactless payments and unlock new checkout experiences,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.

The new feature could cut into the business of companies like Block Inc., formerly Square Inc., which makes hardware for stores and businesses that allow them to accept contactless payments. Block’s shares were down nearly 1% in afternoon trading on Tuesday.

“Whether you’re an Internet-first retailer or individual entrepreneur, you may soon be accepting contactless payments on the device you already have in your pocket: your iPhone,” said Billy Alvarado, Stripe’s chief business officer.

Apple said that the company will not be able to access what is being bought or who is buying it. It said payment data is encrypted and protected by the same technology used for its Apple Pay.

Apple said the feature would work with credit and debit cards from a variety of payment networks, including American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa.