Apple has started testing its new “Tap to Pay” iPhone feature in the Apple Park Visitor Center in Cupertino.
Tap to Pay allows small businesses and merchants the ability to accept payments using only their iPhones. The feature makes it possible to receive payments using Apple Pay, credit/debit cards, and other compatible digital wallets.
Apple testing Tap to Pay for iPhone at the Apple Park Visitor Center
Apple first announced “Tap to Pay” in February this year. It negates the need for using a third-party reader like the one from Square to convert the iPhone into a contactless payment terminal. Like all transactions done using Apple Pay, the new service also encrypts all transaction data, with only the merchant and the customer knowing what is being purchased.
The video below shows an Apple employee seamlessly taking payment from a customer in the Apple Park Visitor Center using the Tap to Pay feature in just a few seconds. As of now, this is among Apple’s only retail stores in the US to test the new contactless payment method.
The Apple Park Visitor Center is one of the only apple retail stores in the US to support contactless pay straight from an iPhone. Awesome to see in person! pic.twitter.com/GiFDiL56OO
— Michael (@NTFTWT) May 15, 2022
Tap to Pay will allow businesses to receive payments with just their iPhone
Apple’s retail employees have been able to accept payments using their iPhones for years now. However, it required the use of specialized hardware tied to the device, which Tap to Pay eliminates.
The Cupertino company is currently offering Tap to Pay to businesses in the US in partnership with Shopify and Adyen. The latter is working with enterprise customers and commerce platforms like Lightspeed Commerce and NewStore to expand the reach of the feature to more businesses.
Apple testing Tap to Pay at Apple Park’s Visitor Center could hint at an imminent expansion of the feature to its other retail stores and other businesses in the country.
