Apple Launches Tap to Pay on iPhone in the UK

Apple has announced the launch of Tap to Pay on iPhone in the United Kingdom, allowing independent sellers, small merchants, and large retailers in the country to use ‌iPhones‌ as a payment terminal.

Apple Tap to Pay on iPhone avail UK transaction
Introduced in February 2022, the feature allows compatible iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets, using only an ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌ - no additional hardware or credit card machine is required‌.

Tap to Pay on ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ uses NFC technology to securely authenticate the contactless payments, plus the feature also supports PIN entry, which includes accessibility options.

"We've seen Tap to Pay on iPhone transform the checkout experience for so many different types of businesses, and we're thrilled to now support merchants across the U.K. by offering an easy, secure, and private way to accept contactless payments using the power, security, and convenience of iPhone, with no additional hardware needed," said Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. "Small and medium-sized businesses have long played a vital role in the U.K. economy, and alongside payment platforms, app developers, and payment networks, we're making it easier than ever for U.K. businesses to seamlessly accept contactless payments and continue to grow their business."

Revolut and Tyl by NatWest are the first payment platforms to offer Tap to Pay on ‌iPhone‌ to their U.K. business customers, with Adyen, Dojo, myPOS, Stripe, SumUp, Viva Wallet, Worldline, and Zettle by PayPal coming soon. Tap to Pay on ‌iPhone‌ will also roll out to Apple Store locations in the U.K. in the coming weeks.

Tap to Pay on ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ requires ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ XS or newer models, and works for customers as any normal ‌‌‌‌Apple Pay‌‌‌‌ transaction would. Sellers just need to open up the app, register the sale, and present their ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ to the buyer, who can then use an appropriate contactless payment method.

Tap to Pay on ‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌ is available to over 700,000 additional businesses across the United States, and Apple Stores in the U.S. have also rolled out the feature. The U.K. is the fourth region to support Tap to Pay, following similar rollouts in Australia and Taiwan earlier in the year.

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Top Rated Comments

ErikGrim Avatar
23 months ago
They finally launched a US only feature somewhere ELSE than the US? My God, maybe there's still hope that we'll see Apple Pay Cash and Apple Card sometime this century
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arkitect Avatar
23 months ago
Excellent news.
Hopefully the other banks won't be far behind with their support.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cgs1xx Avatar
23 months ago
I thought the whole idea of this Tap to Pay was that it would work for individuals? businesses already have devices to accept contactless payments from their clients… ?

This would be great to have in the future, ie when you want to lend someone a tenner or give them money because you split the bill etc
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WildSelkie Avatar
23 months ago

parity with android phones, never would have dreamt the day would come, the times I'v been asked to tap to pay by tradesmen and had to tell them sorry I've only got an iPhone only to witness the look of pity in their eyes.....sigh
Apple Pay as a payment method instead of using a debit card has been available for a good while in the UK now so you only having an iPhone shouldn’t have been an issue when paying a tradesmen if they were able to accept contactless payment.

this allows businesses to use an iPhone as a payment terminal rather than a dedicated card reader from their payment provider - admittedly this has been available on android for a while, but it would have been the tradesman apologising rather than you.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fried_Gold Avatar
23 months ago

My God, maybe there's still hope that we'll see Apple Pay Cash and Apple Card sometime this century
Zero percent chance.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Fan 2008 Avatar
23 months ago
Good, glad to see the UK getting more Apple Pay features!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)