Stripe Launches 'Tap to Pay on iPhone' Beta Program Ahead of 'Spring' Release

Tuesday February 8, 2022 9:28 am PST by Joe Rossignol

Stripe today announced a closed beta program for Apple's upcoming "Tap to Pay on iPhone" feature, with a sign-up form available on its website. The payment platform said the feature is "coming this spring" in the United States.

tap to pay on iphone credit card
Tap to Pay on iPhone will allow newer iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets, with no additional hardware required. Apple said Stripe will be the first payment platform to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to its partners, including Shopify for its Point of Sale app "this spring."

Tap to Pay on iPhone will allow individual merchants and small businesses in the U.S. to accept contactless payments in supported apps with an iPhone XS or newer. At checkout, the merchant will simply prompt the customer to hold their own iPhone or Apple Watch, contactless credit or debit card, or other digital wallet near the merchant's iPhone, and the payment will be securely completed using NFC technology.

Apple's new feature will turn iPhones into contactless payment terminals without additional hardware like a Square Reader, providing for a simple and convenient experience. It appears that the feature will be exclusive to the U.S. at launch.

Tap to Pay on iPhone will work with contactless credit and debit cards from leading payment networks, including American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa, according to Apple. The feature will be available to participating payment platforms and their app developer partners in an upcoming iOS beta version.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Tag: Tap to Pay on iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

Hajj.david

61 months ago

That's not what Konigi is worried about.

What's to prevent someone from holding their iPhone next to someone's ~~buttocks~~ wallet where the contactless credit card is and initiating a payment? Nothing.

I'm sure someone will come along and say you'll need a merchant account to accept payments and all that, but it's not as if people haven't had their identities stolen. All a thief needs to do is buy a burner iPhone, set it up with fake/stolen credentials, and create a merchant account with the same stolen credentials.

Once they've targeted enough people and completed enough transactions, withdraw the money to an external account that's also been set-up with stolen credentials and then transfer those fund to some offshore account or something.

Its a stupid concern given the hundreds of tap to pay terminals that already exist and are far smaller and easier to hide. I have yet to see a wallet more than $5 that doesn't have RFID protection. The last thing we need is for this to be another Airtag that started off so useful but now is beyond useless thanks to overly ridiculous concerns.

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

imnotthewalrus

61 months ago

not exactly the kind of feature I would want to use as a beta... :eek:

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️

61 months ago

Hopefully, this gets expanded fast to other countries such as U.K.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

jaytv111

61 months ago

I'm trying to understand how it does not become easier to steal someone's credit card money. What are the safety features? Is it because all transactions made through it can be traced back to you?

This is what keeps you from stealing someone's money: https://paymentdepot.com/blog/merchant-account-requirements/

You need a merchant account. To get one, you need to satisfy those requirements. If someone steals it all, then fine, they will be able to get the money for a short while, when people start complaining about charges they don't remember, they will shut down the account, and use any information to report the fraud to authorities, who will have the tools to prove the fraud in court and send you to prison. If you're good enough to get away with this, then you probably have skills to steal way more money and you're wasting your time. If you're not too good you'll go to prison. It's a high-risk low-reward scenario. And yes you can go around with a payment loaded in a reader (no iPhone needed actually), and tap it to people's pants to get contactless cards (not Apple Pay/other phone payments, notably, because you have to start the transaction and authenticate), but this is defeated by RFID-blocking wallets.

So if you're worried still, then know that you have 0 fraud liability. Check your statements and report any suspected fraud within 30 days, and you'll have no liability for fraud. And use RFID-blocking wallets.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)