The giant of the bitten apple has announced “Tap to Pay”, a new function with which Apple has turned the iPhone into a dataphone, and thanks to that feature we may make, and accept, payments using said smartphone, and without contact, although it will be limited to a series of specific models, a topic that we will touch on later.
From the beginning. The first thing we must be clear about is that «Tap to Pay» You will not need any additional software or hardware. All you need is a compatible iPhone, according to Apple, and a credit or debit card. We can also use another iPhone or even an Apple Watch to make and accept payments, that is, we can bring an iPhone closer to another iPhone to make a payment. We bring the card, the iPhone or the Apple Watch closer, and that’s it.
Apple has confirmed that this new feature will also be available to developers, which means that developers will be able to integrate it, if they wish, as a payment option in their own applications. It goes without saying that, for individuals, this new function translates into greater comfort, and should also offer greater security. For professionals and freelancers it is also an important valueand will allow them to dispense with the classic dataphone.
Which smartphones and cards will be compatible with Apple “Tap to Pay”?
Apple has confirmed that this service will be compatible with a iPhone XS or higher, and also with major credit and debit cards, including American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa. This translates into wide support, but we must not forget that the apple company has also indicated that, in the end, this function will be compatible with “another type of digital wallet” based on NFC.
As far as supported iPhones are concerned, we see that only the most current models can be used with Apple “Tap to Pay” (the iPhone Xs hit the market in 2018). The iPhone X, iPhone 8-8 Plus and all previous models are excluded. I think that Apple could have fine-tuned the support a little better in this regard, but in any case it is nothing new in the Cupertino universe, and it is that, normally, the most advanced functions are usually limited to the most modern devices and equipment.
In terms of security, the apple company has confirmed that this payment method uses the same protection measures as Apple Pay, so any transaction we make is encrypted and processed using a “secure element”a tamper-proof integrated circuit that ensures the integrity and security of the operation.
The deployment of “Pay to Tap” will take place first in the United States, and will begin to be used at the end of this year. Later it will be extended to the rest of the world, but we still do not have an exact date of its arrival in Spain, so we can only wait.
