Apple is using its upcoming Tap to Pay feature, which lets newer iPhones accept contactless payments without the use of a third-party card terminal, at its flagship visitors center in Apple Park. The new way to easily receive payments for goods and services was first announced in February 2022 with no concrete release date. The company said it would first test out the new capabilities in its retail stores later this year, with a rollout to consumers to follow the trial run. Now, users are getting a glimpse of the feature's convenience as iPhone-to-iPhone payments are making their way to Apple stores. The Apple Park retail store has exclusive offerings unavailable anywhere else, including branded t-shirts and accessories, and it's the first known store to utilize Tap to Pay.
There's a reason that Apple Park gets a taste of the company's new features before other locations. The campus serves as a state-of-the-art headquarters and is the location where products and services are developed. Apple Park was developed for years, and was designed in part by Jony Ive, the longtime chief design officer of the company. It opened in 2017 and has since become the hub for all things Apple. The circular building was featured in a slew of keynotes that were recorded due to the cancellation of in-person events in 2020, but is somewhat mysterious. Customers can visit parts of the campus, though, and Apple Park is one of the few places users can witness Tap to Pay while it is still in development.
The Tap to Pay feature would make it possible to complete a transaction with nothing but a pair of iPhones, and a firsthand video shows how easy it can be in daily use. An Apple Park visitor recorded the process of paying for an item at the retail store as shown in a Tweet. The video appears to be similar to the way that the company has processed its payments at retail stores for years — Apple employees carry iPhones to complete purchases, check inventory, and process service requests — but is actually a first look at the Tap to Pay feature. In most Apple stores, the company's iPhones utilize an additional case that serves as a payment terminal to process credit card and contactless purchases. As the video shows, however, there's no additional hardware required, and the customer pays with Apple Pay directly to another iPhone.
How Apple's Tap To Pay Works
In the demonstration of Tap to Pay, the Apple employee enters the amount to be charged or scans any items to be purchased. The employee then taps an illegible button at the top right corner of the screen that readies the iPhone to receive a contactless payment. A previously unseen software interface appears, which clearly shows the amount to be paid and the name of the business receiving the payment — in this case, the Apple Park visitor center. The iPhone instructs the customer to hold their iPhone or other contactless payment to the top of the smartphone, since this is the are where the device's near-field communication (NFC) chip is located. After the two iPhones are within range, the transaction is processed without any third-party device or external payment terminal.
The feature utilizes the NFC chip that is incorporated into Apple's newer phones and Tap to Pay will be available on the iPhone XS series and newer. These phones debuted in 2018, and since most people upgrade their phones often, the average person probably has a compatible smartphone. Due to these capabilities, iPhones will be able to accept payments from NFC-enabled smartphones and credit cards by simply holding the device or card near the top of the iPhone. It's designed for business owners, but just about anyone can utilize the feature, including 'individual entrepreneurs.' Tap to Pay supports major credit card issuers, including American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa, and can be implemented in third-party iOS applications with a to-be released beta software and application programming interface (API). It's unclear when Apple's Tap to Pay might come to the public, but the feature looks to simplify payments between people and businesses.
Source: NTFTWT/Twitter, Apple