Apple has announced that it will be opening up the iPhone’s NFC (Near Field Communication) chip using its Secure Element feature to third-party developers for contactless payments, separate from Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. The feature will debut in a future release of iOS 18.1 and will be available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., and the United States.
The change comes after the company announced it would ope the standard to third-party apps in accordance with the EU following the ruling in the Digital Markets act.
Apple offered the following comments as to the change:
“Starting with iOS 18.1, developers will be able to offer NFC contactless transactions using the Secure Element from within their own apps on iPhone, separate from Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. Using the new NFC and SE (Secure Element) APIs, developers will be able to offer in-app contactless transactions for in-store payments, car keys, closed-loop transit, corporate badges, student IDs, home keys, hotel keys, merchant loyalty and rewards cards, and event tickets, with government IDs to be supported in the future.”
Apple also says that users will be able to set a third-party app as their default contactless app via the Settings app on their iPhones.
Apple also added that “To incorporate this new solution in their iPhone apps, developers will need to enter into a commercial agreement with Apple, request the NFC and SE entitlement, and pay the associated fees.” Apple has currently not published any details as to its fee structure, but has posted more details about its plans on its developer website, with instructions on how developers can contact Apple to express interest in the offering.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via 9to5Mac and developer.apple.com