Whenever we want to pay for something with the iPhone in a physical store, we have to resort to Apple Pay. And this is because Payment system introduced in 2016 It has become a standard. In fact, I already pay for everything with my Apple Watch. I haven’t used cash for months and most of the time I leave my house without my wallet.
Pay with Apple Pay has numerous advantagesThe main one is that you don’t need to enter a PIN, no matter how much money you’re spending. Then there’s privacy, as it generates an independent number that is not associated with the original card. And finally, the integration with the ecosystem and ease of use.
Apple decides to open the NFC chip and it will not be necessary to go through the Wallet app or Apple Pay
And if the Wallet app is so good, why would Apple open it up to third parties? After all, almost ten years having the “monopoly” of Apple Paythere are banks that still do not use it and, above all, other types of cards such as public transport or car keys.
Apple has solutions for all of this. For example, BMWs can be opened with Wallet and its CarKey digital key. There are cities like New York, London, Paris or Tokyo that have their public transport systems integrated. However, the reality is that, apart from these isolated cases, Many of us only use it with Apple Pay. And, depending on the country, not even that. For example, Apple Pay has just arrived at BBVA Mexico, in 2024.
Opening up the NFC chip will make it easier for many more companies to take advantage of the iPhone and for users to gain in practicality. For example, public transport in Barcelona has already confirmed that, thanks to the opening of the NFC chip, sYou can use the T-Mobilitat card to enter the metrobuses, etc., with the iPhone. A functionality that already existed in Android and that, due to Apple’s limitations (or requirements), was not possible.
And if, in a utopian world All banks, businesses and car manufacturers would be able to integrate with Apple’s method to officially support Apple Pay or Wallet. But time has already been sufficient to show that in some cases it is not enough.
iOS 18 will bring a new way to use NFC on the iPhone
Apple officially announced that with iOS 18.1 developers will be able to offer contactless transactions in applications without having to go through Apple Pay or Wallet. a new programming interface (API) which will allow iPhones not only to make payments through other services, but also to add car keys, smart locks, tickets, certificates…
These new APIs use the iPhone’s Secure Enclave, a specific chip that stores sensitive information directly on the device itself, so Our privacy will remain guaranteed. For us, the users, we can configure this application as default so that, when we double-click the side button, it starts the corresponding transaction.
Currently, the NFC API and Secure Enclave will be available to developers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States with iOS 18.1, and throughout the coming year in more countries and regionsthe European Union being surely the second “batch” of this launch.