Apple is working to give iPhone the ability to accept contactless credit card payments over NFC without the need for additional hardware “in the coming months,” according to a new report.
You currently need a third-party credit card reader, like those made by Square, to use iPhone as a payment terminal. However, since iPhone 6 made it debut in 2014, Apple’s smartphone has been packing the NFC technology that’s needed.
Cupertino profits from every Apple Pay transaction. And the money comes from big banks that issue the credit cards that get entered into the iPhone’s virtual wallet. Now, the banks are reportedly pushing to have the fees lowered.
And the fact that Apple created its own credit card to complete with the banks only made things worse.
Security researchers have discovered a major flaw in Express Transit on iPhone that allows hackers to steal money from a user’s Visa card. They say the problem can be easily fixed, but neither Apple or Visa seem interested.
The flaw makes it possible for iPhone’s contactless payment system, designed to make it easier and faster to pay for public transport, to be charged arbitrary transactions by a device that imitates a transport terminal.
Apple Pay’s latest promotion saves new Instacart customers a generous $30 on deliveries worth $50 or more. Existing customers can also save $5 when spending $35 or more. The promotion is available through September 8.
With the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) turning 105 years old, Apple said today it will donate $10 for purchases of its products from official sales points to the National Park Foundation (NPF) through August 29. The Cupertino tech giant will also share new ways for customers to learn about and celebrate America’s parks.
Coinbase, the popular cryptocurrency exchange, now lets you buy assets using Apple Pay. The new payment method appears with you have a Mastercard or Visa debit card added to the Wallet app.
What’s more, Coinbase is making it faster to cash out up to $100,000.
Apple Cash now allows you to send money using a Mastercard debit card. The peer-to-peer payments feature, which works with Apple Pay and iMessage, previously required a Visa debit card.
Apple has also confirmed that the cost of making an Instant Transfer using Apple Cash is increasing from August 26, 2021.
Apple and its Apple Card partner, Goldman Sachs, plan to launch a new pay-in-installments service for all Apple Pay purchases reportedly known internally as “Apple Pay Later.” It resembles other “buy now, pay later” offerings from companies like Affirm Holdings and PayPal.
The European Union has warned Apple that regulators’ investigation into Apple Pay is going ahead. In an interview with Bloomberg News, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the Apple Pay case is “quite advanced” and “something that we’re pushing forward.”
If you don’t use Apple Pay yet, Apple’s latest set of offers may help convince you to give Cupertino’s mobile payments solution a try. Especially if your wardrobe is in dire need of an upgrade after more than a year of most folks being stuck home.
As part of a “Springtime savings” offer, Apple is offering Apple Pay users discounts at stores ranging from California clothing brand PacSun to sunglasses company Costa Del Mar to sporty apparel company Under Armour.
