iPhone to accept contactless payments through tap-to-pay

Apple is expanding the iPhone's capabilities to accept contactless payments, making it easier for merchants to conduct tap-to-pay transactions without having to buy additional hardware.

The new capability will empower millions of merchants across the US, from small businesses to large retailers, to use their iPhone to seamlessly and securely accept Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets through a simple tap on their iPhone.

Tap to Pay on iPhone will be available for payment platforms and app developers to integrate into their iOS apps and offer as a payment option to their business customers. Stripe will be the first payment platform to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to their business customers, including the Shopify Point of Sale app. Additional payment platforms and apps will follow later this year.

The tap-to-pay feature will use the iPhone's existing NFC chip that was being used to transmit payments down to a payment terminal. It will be up to developers and payment-services companies to add the capability to their point-of-sale software.

The feature will only be available on iPhones XS or later, and will not be available on iPads. Just like with Apple Pay, the company said it will keep transaction data private and will not know what merchants and customers are buying.