Apple to make contactless payments more seamless using NFC-like functionality

Apple is working on a new payments feature that will enable iPhone users to receive payments on their devices in a contactless manner. This function when deployed will function in a way that is quite similar to the NFC contactless payments feature that is available in some Android phones right now. According to a report by Bloomberg, the feature in question will enable small businesses to accept payments on their iPhones without needing any additional hardware.

As it happens right now, businesses that want to accept payments using iPhones need to use third-party hardware to facilitate the transactions. A lot of times these external devices come from companies such as Square that offer different payment terminals for iPhones and iPads.

Now, Apple is set to make contactless payments using iPhones and iPads easier using Canadian startup Mobeewave’s technology, which it acquired in 2020 for about $200 million. The upcoming feature will use iPhone’s near field communications or NFC chip, which is currently being used for Apple Pay for making transactions seamlessly and quickly.

The report says that while it remains unclear if the new contactless payments option will be a part of Apple Pay. It also remains uncertain if Apple will partner with an existing payment network or launch the feature alone.

As far as the availability is concerned, Apple is expected to roll out this feature in the form of a software update in the coming months. The company is expected to roll out the update in the first beta version of iOS 15.4. The final version of the feature is expected to be available to consumers as soon as spring this year. If this is true, that would put the feature roll out in line with Apple’s spring event where it is expected to launch a new iPhone SE and a new iPad Air with 5G connectivity.

It is worth noting that Apple won’t be the first company to use Mobeewave’s payment acceptance technology. Samsung used Mobeewave’s payments technology back in 2019 before it was sold to Apple.

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