iPhone introduces ‘Tap to pay’ contactless payment feature in Italy : Tech : Tech Times

The Tap to Pay feature on the Apple iPhone is set to be rolled out in Italy, as reportedly confirmed by the tech giant itself this Wednesday. The contactless payment feature was recently launched in Japan and Canada.

As in other countries where this feature is available, the company is working closely with leading Italian payment networks to enable them to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to their customers.

(Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images) An Apple logo is displayed on a screen before the start of a product launch event at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, on September 10, 2019.

Sources say that payments giants Stripe, Adyen and Nexi have started providing their Italian business customers with an Apple iPhone-based payment solution.

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a wireless technology that enables the exchange of data over short distances between devices and is used by Apple’s Tap to Pay service. Tap to Pay allows retailers to make contactless payments via an iOS app compatible with iPhone X or later running the latest version of iOS.

To process a payment, the merchant only needs to tell the customer to keep their Apple Watch, iPhone, or compatible NFC card near the merchant’s iPhone during checkout.

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Italian payment platforms and Apple’s Tap to Pay feature

Store owners previously had the option to use the NexiSoftPOS app on their phones to process payments, as Nexi is the largest payments company in Europe by number of transactions processed

However, until today, it was limited to phones running Android, not Apple’s iOS operating system. Small businesses can save money by processing payments via smartphone instead of purchasing specialized technology.

The Dutch company Adyen also announced the introduction of the Tap to Pay service. Adyen mainly serves large corporate clients in the field of e-commerce services, but is expanding its offer to stationary sellers. It would be sold in stores of luxury Milan brand Prada, starting in Italy’s fashion district.

Apple tap to pay misfortunes

Apple’s expansion into Tap to Pay technology follows previous cases against Apple in which the tech giant faced heavy fines over its Tap to Pay technology.

When rival mobile wallet software makers were prevented from using Apple Pay’s tap-and-go technology, the European Commission two years ago accused the company of stifling mobile wallet competition. After such cases, Apple had to make its contactless payment feature available to third parties.

However, at the time, the relaxation of the rules only applied to apps that could be used within the European Union, not internationally.

Until now, Apple has severely limited access to the iPhone’s touchless NFC chip due to concerns about user experience, security, and privacy. Apple Pay is the most popular contactless payment option for iPhone consumers due to the lack of competition.

Consumers will be able to download alternative apps and set them as the default contactless payment app on their smartphones. This will allow the app to replace system functions often associated with Apple Pay, such as double-click and near-field activation.

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