Apple has announced plans to launch Tap to Pay for its iPhone, a new feature that effectively turns the smartphone into a point of sale for businesses and retailers. So what is encryption?
The announcement explains that with Tap to Pay, iPhone-owning merchants receive contactless payments using their mobile devices as vending machines thanks to Near Field Communications or NFC technology.
According to Apple, the soon-to-be-launched Tap to Pay feature will expand support for “Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets.” Essentially, this means that unless Apple puts a direct barrier in front of it, customers who use Coinbase cards, Crypto.com Visa cards, or similar payment cards will be able to use their crypto holdings to make payments through Tap to Pay.
While Apple announced Stripe, an Irish-American fintech, as the first platform to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone, the company clarified that “more payment platforms and apps are coming later this year.”
In August 2021, major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase merged with Apple Pay and Google Pay to allow users to purchase cryptocurrency on the platform. The move allowed US customers to purchase cryptocurrency using bank debit and credit cards through standard payment platform Apple Pay, Cointelegraph reports.
In June 2021, Coinbase launched the Coinbase Card, which allows users to use cryptocurrency in the usual ways:
“Coinbase automatically converts all cryptocurrencies into US dollars and transfers funds to your Coinbase card (minus transfer fees) for use in purchases and ATM withdrawals.”
Crypto.com has since launched a similar offering called the Crypto.com Visa Card, which can be added to Apple Pay and other major digital wallets. Apple’s announcement says:
“Payment Loss on iPhone will work with contactless credit and debit cards from leading payment networks, including American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa.”
Due to Coinbase’s ability to convert a user’s crypto holdings into fiat currency in real time for payments, Apple Pay users will be able to use the Tap to Pay feature on iPhone to make crypto payments between merchants and businesses.
While Apple Pay likely won’t let you buy goods and services directly with Bitcoin (BTC), it does convert a user’s crypto inventory to match the dollar amount that the vending machine asks to make the purchase.
Let’s also not forget that in November 2021 Apple CEO Tim Cook announced his personal purchase of cryptocurrency as part of a diversified portfolio, without mentioning any immediate plans to use cryptocurrency as payment for Apple products.
Apple intends to roll out Tap to Pay in Apple stores, iPhone XS, and later devices.
Related Topics: Bitcoin Lightning Network Launches on Cash App
Cash App, a mobile payment service developed and owned by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey Block, has announced compatibility with the Bitcoin Lightning Network for BTC transfers.
With the launch of the new feature, Cash App users can conduct faster BTC transactions in a normal business. As reported by Cointelegraph, the company has made this feature available throughout the United States with the exception of New York.
