Apple Stores Rolling Out iPhone-to-iPhone Contactless Payments Starting Today

Apple in February unveiled a new "Tap to Pay on iPhone" feature that will allow compatible iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets, with no additional hardware required.

Apple Tap to Pay iPhone
Apple began testing the feature at its Apple Park Visitor Center earlier this month, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has tweeted that the feature will begin rolling out to Apple Stores across the United States starting today, allowing customers to try it out. The feature might not be available at every Apple Store immediately.

Apple said the feature would launch in the U.S. later this year, but the company has yet to share a specific launch timeframe. The feature will allow small businesses and merchants to accept contactless payments through supported iOS apps using an iPhone XS or newer. At checkout, the merchant will simply prompt the customer to hold their own iPhone or Apple Watch, contactless credit or debit card, or other digital wallet near the merchant's iPhone, and the payment will be securely completed using NFC technology.

tap to pay on iphone credit card
Currently, merchants that accept contactless payments on an iPhone must rely on additional hardware like the Square Reader, which comes in various models that work wirelessly or connect to an iPhone's Lightning connector or headphone jack.

Popular Stories

CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.4.1 With Bug Fixes

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There have been complaints about ...
tvOS 18 Thumb 1

Apple Releases tvOS 18.4.1

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 18.4.1, a minor update to the tvOS 18 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 18.4.1 comes two weeks after Apple released tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.4.1 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
iPhone Security Feature 25

Five iPhone Security Features You Should Be Using

Wednesday April 16, 2025 4:15 pm PDT by
Apple has quite a few security features that it's added to iPhones, iPads, and Macs over the years. Now more than ever, it's important to make sure you're taking advantage of the built-in security tools that are available to keep yourself and your data safe, so we've rounded up a list of the most important options. If you don't already have these enabled, you might want to consider turning...

Top Rated Comments

jimbobb24 Avatar
38 months ago
Five minutes later EU bureaucrats now demanding Apple open this to everyone.


This is a great technology. I see people at garage sales and farmers market using square. This is another good option.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
38 months ago
I'm glad it's rolled out this quickly. Another reason why everyone should get an iPhone.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gsmornot Avatar
38 months ago

So square devices and similar are now dead? Reminds me of when Google Maps/directions was released free. That basically killed the dedicated GPS device market. Prior to google, map companies were charging $20-$30 a month for their directions app
I thought I read a while back it would require a third party like Square to enable the payment acceptance to work. I dont think its exactly direct payment but instead uses the NFC service via an app to accept on the phone. It would eliminate external hardware but not necessarily a company like Square who would still be there to process. Maybe I am mistaken?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jarman92 Avatar
38 months ago

Five minutes later EU bureaucrats now demanding Apple open this to everyone.


This is a great technology. I see people at garage sales and farmers market using square. This is another good option.
Nah, they’ll demand that Apple get rid of it because it’s “anti-competitive.” Even though Apple makes no money from it and it’s beneficial for consumers.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yossi Avatar
38 months ago
So square devices and similar are now dead? Reminds me of when Google Maps/directions was released free. That basically killed the dedicated GPS device market. Prior to google, map companies were charging $20-$30 a month for their directions app
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LeadingHeat Avatar
38 months ago
I'm just excited for this to roll out to the third party payment services, and then later (a year later maybe to avoid all the hungry Eurocrats) open it up to using Apple Pay peer-to-peer without needing a third party app. Just baked into iOS 17 or something.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)