Apple to Expand Use of Tap to Pay on iPhone With Newer Devices

Apple is reportedly expanding the use of its ‘Tap to Pay on iPhone’ feature, particularly in its retail stores. Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reports that Apple retail employees will be given newer iPhone 16 units to support metal cards.

In the latest Power On newsletter, Gurman explains how Tap to Pay on iPhone will expand its support to metal cards, which have been troublesome up until this point. Since the introduction of Tap to Pay on iPhone, Apple retail employees have been using iPhone 14 to process transactions. These devices don’t always support metal cards. So, Apple is reportedly intending to upgrade store employees to iPhone 16.

“The tap-to-pay system in the iPhone 14 can sometimes be finicky and not support metal cards like American Express Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve,” Gurman says. “But Apple has found that the iPhone 16 does a better job and eliminates the need for store employees to carry around the specialized terminals.”

Tap to Pay on iPhone first launched in 2022. The feature will then be released in Canada later in 2024. Using Tap to Pay on iPhone, businesses, including Apple, can accept payments from credit cards, debit cards, and other contactless payments. Payment is collected and secured like Apple Pay, using NFC.

Tap to Pay on iPhone supports contactless payments and payment networks such as American Express, Interac, Mastercard, and Visa.