iPhone is ready to process contactless payments without extra hardware. This year the iPhone’s Near Field Communication (NFC) feature will be available for developers, vendors, and customers. With “Tap to Pay on iPhone,” merchants and vendors will be able to accept contactless payments from customers at point-of-sale using just an app on the iPhone without extra hardware.
However, developers will be required to build this functionality into their apps using the tools Apple providers. The press release of Apple describes the feature in terms of how it will work for vendors and customers.
According to Apple, the feature will be launched for end-users in the United States later this year, however, some web content from Stripe suggests a more specific window.