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.

Popular Stories

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...
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...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
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 ...
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...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
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...

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)
9646829 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)