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- Apple is on the verge of enabling NFC contactless transactions on iPhones, initially accessed by developers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S.
- According to Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire, this could be a huge opportunity for iPhone users to facilitate payment in cryptos or USDC.
Apple has made an exciting announcement that could bring the integration of crypto payment to the disposal of iPhone users. According to the upcoming upgrade publicly announced via an official blog post, developers would be able to provide NFC contactless transactions on iOS 18.1 and above through Secure Element in the iPhone apps. With a successful implementation, developers could offer multiple features, such as in-app contactless transactions for in-store payments and others.
Using the new NFC and SE (Secure Element) APIs, developers will be able to offer in-app contactless transactions for in-store payments, car keys, closed-loop transit, corporate badges, student IDs, home keys, hotel keys, merchant loyalty and rewards cards, and event tickets, with government IDs to be supported in the future.
Requirements For this New Solution
Developers seeking to incorporate this new solution in their apps must first tick three boxes – make a commercial agreement with Apple, Request the NFC and SE entitlement, and pay all relevant fees.
For now, the NFC and SE APIs would be rolled out to developers within seven countries – Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. To initiate transactions, users are required to directly open the app or make it a default contactless app and then double-click the side button.
Having weighed the benefits and all associated implications, Apple claims to have ensured that the NFC contactless transactions are fully secured while not compromising privacy. In explaining this, the announcement disclosed that the NFC and SE leverage the Secured Element, a certified chip meant to store sensitive information on devices.
What the Latest In-App NFC Integration in Apple Means to Crypto
Immediately after this announcement, Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire retweeted it with the caption, “Tap to pay using USDC on iPhones is incoming soon. Wallet devs, start your engines.”
Tap to pay using USDC on iPhones incoming soon. Wallet devs, start your engines. https://t.co/D6lsj4saMS— Jeremy Allaire – jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) August 14, 2024
Adding to this statement, Allaire clarified that Circle and Apple do not collaborate. To him, this groundbreaking development could open doors for blockchain payment capabilities in iPhones. This implies that there could be a point-of-sale system for blockchain addresses, a space to enter payment amounts in USDC, and a feature for user confirmation.
According to him, this upgrade could provide immeasurable support for NFTs, tickets, as well as stablecoins like EURC. On top of that, he believes that the joint operations of these high-performance features and the low-fee blockchain networks could act as a gateway for merchant USDC payment to maximize its full potential.
So, yes, Wallet developers should start using the latest Apple iOS SDKs that support this and ready their apps for USDC Tap to Pay. And, yes, PoS hardware/software companies should ready firmware updates so that they can send/receive these NFC instructions, and work with their Payment Processors to ensure that those firms upgrade to support native USDC settlement (many PSPs and Processors are already doing this).
Reacting to this, a crypto trader identified as Marty Party labeled it as the biggest breakthrough in crypto adoption.
IMO: This is the biggest advance in crypto adoption ever. Few understand the implications of this win.@SolanaPay @circle $USDC @Apple @phantom https://t.co/uWYDjQsazlhttps://t.co/VjDlXGjSVr https://t.co/RIEM7I07vH pic.twitter.com/UGXNtF14ZK— MartyParty (@martypartymusic) August 14, 2024
Apple’s relationship with the crypto industry has been quite positive, as it recently partnered with VeWorld Wallet, as reported earlier. In October 2023, we also highlighted the statement of Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak, declaring that Bitcoin is superior to gold.