Apple Launching Contactless Payments for Crypto Users via Tap to Pay on iPhone
Apple has revealed that it’s rolling out the Tap to Pay feature on iPhone. The firm says the solution will enable merchants in the United States to accept payments from digital wallets, Apple Pay, contactless credit, and debit cards, in a secure and frictionless way, according to an announcement on February 8, 2022.
Tap to Pay May Support Crypto Payments
Apple has announced via a press release that it’s looking to launch the Tap to Pay functionality for its iPhone XS smartphone and later devices.
The Tim Cook-led premium smartphone maker says the solution will initially be available only in the U.S., enabling millions of merchants, from small businesses to large retailers across the country to use their iPhone to seamlessly and securely accept Apple Pay, digital wallets, contactless credit, and debit cards and more, by simply tapping their iPhone.
Apple has made it clear that the Tap to Pay feature will initially be available on Stripe. Stripe will be able to offer the service to its business customers, including the Shopify Point of Sale App this spring, with more payment platforms to follow before the end of 2022.
Commenting on the latest feature, Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet said:
“As more and more consumers are tapping to pay with digital wallets and credit cards, Tap to pay on iPhone will provide businesses with a secure, private, and easy way to accept contactless payments and unlock new checkout experiences using the power, security, and convenience of iPhone. In collaboration with payment platforms, app developers, and payment networks, we’re making it easier than ever for businesses of all sizes – from solopreneurs to large retailers – to seamlessly accept contactless payments and continue to grow their business.”
Crypto Payments Support
Founded in 2009 by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison, Stripe inked a partnership deal with Apple in 2014 to enable the latter to leverage the former’s frictionless payments solution.
It will be recalled that Stripe made history in 2014 when it became the first major payments company to integrate bitcoin (BTC) into its operations. However, the business ended support for bitcoin payments in 2018, citing BTC price volatility and other factors.
During the Fintech Abu Dhabi festival held last November, John Collison, the co-founder of Stripe, made it clear that the company isn’t entirely ruling out accepting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment methods once again.
“Crypto obviously means a lot different things to a lot of different people. There have been a lot of developments of late with an eye to making cryptocurrencies better and, in particular, scalable and acceptable cost as a payment method. We don’t yet [accept crypto], but I think it’s not implausible that we would,” he said.
In June 2021, the largest crypto exchange in the United States, Coinbase, announced that it has added support for Apple Pay and Google Pay, making it possible for shoppers to pay with their cryptoassets at all supported locations with the Coinbase Card.
While Apple has not explicitly stated that the upcoming feature will support crypto payment cards, it’s very likely that holders of Coinbase Cards, Crypto.com Card and other crypto-supporting payment cards will also enjoy this feature when it goes live, provided they integrate them into their iPhones.
