Apple Opens Up NFC to Third-Party Apps in EU, Allowing New Tap-to-Pay Options

Thursday January 25, 2024 10:38 am PST by Juli Clover

As part of major changes being made to the app ecosystem in the EU in iOS 17.4, Apple is allowing apps to access and use the iPhone's NFC chip.

apple pay feature dynamic island
Going forward, NFC payments will be available directly in apps without the need for Apple Pay or the Wallet app, paving the way for third-party payment services and banks to offer their own tap-to-pay solutions on Apple devices.

‌iPhone‌ users can set a default app that will be activated when an ‌iPhone‌ is near an NFC terminal or when the side button on the device is double clicked, which means native support for tap-to-pay payments that are not ‌Apple Pay‌ is now available.

Apple will require apps using NFC for payments to confirm to industry security standards, such as having valid agreements with an authorized Payment Service Provider.

This access to NFC technology is limited to banking and wallet apps that are in the European Economic Area, which includes the 27 European Union countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

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Top Rated Comments

mthomas184

28 months ago

The downside to this, I can easily see banks in the EU removing support for Apple Pay and if you wanna use tap to pay, you have to exclusively use their app.

Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)

LightProtector

28 months ago

and whats wrong with that?
its not that they dont want to Apple to get their cut (its ridiculously low)
its that their don't want card issuers to get their cut

Nobody wants different apps for different functions. The appeal of Apple Wallet is having everything in one place. It’s so damn inconvenient to open that app to tap. It’s counter intuitive. I would straight up switch off that bank if they did that to me.

Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)

mthomas184

28 months ago

and whats wrong with that?
its not that they dont want to Apple to get their cut (its ridiculously low)
its that their don't want card issuers to get their cut

Luckily I don’t live in the EU so I don’t have to deal with that crap. But if it came to the US and I was forced to use my bank app for tap to pay rather than just clicking a button for Apple Pay, I would either switch banks or go back to physical cards.

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

DelayedGratificationGene

28 months ago

What? Timmy is not getting a cut of this? Someone hurry up and let Timmy know, this must have slipped through while he was occupied snacking some Beluga

Calling Tim Cook “Timmy” is just about as cringe as it can get.

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

rb24

28 months ago

and whats wrong with that?
its not that they dont want to Apple to get their cut (its ridiculously low)
its that their don't want card issuers to get their cut

Nobody wants different apps for different functions. The appeal of Apple Wallet is having everything in one place. It’s so damn inconvenient to open that app to tap. It’s counter intuitive. I would straight up switch off that bank if they did that to me.

Totally agree. I have more than one bank. Then there are boarding cards, tickets etc. So I want Apple Wallet to launch when there's an NFC reader, not some dumb bank.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)