Apple is working on a new payment service that will allow iPhones to accept payments directly on the device, without additional hardware, it is now reported.
Currently, iPhones can accept credit cards with add-on devices such as the Square Reader, but Apple's new technology will eliminate the need for a third-party product, Bloomberg reports reported. Individuals and small businesses will be able to accept payments with the tap of a debit or credit card on the iPhone. This feature will likely leverage the NFC chip already built into Apple's devices. Apple began developing the hardware-free credit card payment option in 2020 when it acquired Mobeewave for around $100 million. Mobeewave was a startup company that developed technology for smartphones that accepted payments using NFC.
iOS 15.4: Feature could appear in the next update
At the time, the Mobeewave website said that sending payments using the Mobeewave app is as easy as entering a transaction amount and tapping an NFC-enabled card on the back of the smartphone. Apple's newly built-in payments feature will likely work similarly. According to Bloomberg, it is not yet clear whether the payment service will be integrated into Apple Pay, with the team working on the feature based in Apple's payments division. Since current iPhones already come with NFC technology, this feature will not be tied to a hardware update. Apple plans to introduce card payments on the iPhone in the coming months, perhaps as early as the iOS 15.4 update, which could be released in the spring, according to the report. (Photo by oasisamuel / Bigstockphoto)
