What you need to know
- Apple appears to be testing its Tap to Pay feature at its Apple Park Visitor Center.
- People can make payments via Tap to Pay using Apple Pay and contactless cards.
- Apple employees accept payments using a standard iPhone without the need for attachments.
Tap to Pay is being tested at Apple's Apple Park Visitor Center.
Apple is already using its new Tap to Pay functionality at one specific Apple Store — its Apple Park Visitor Center. The new feature allows people to pay for items in the Apple Store using Apple Pay by tapping their device against a standard iPhone — no need for attachments as is currently the case.
Apple's Tap to Pay is available to businesses via the Stripe and Adyen payment platforms but it isn't yet offered as an ad-hoc payment system for individuals. That could change with the arrival of iOS 16 later this year but we'll need to wait for this year's WWDC event to know for sure.
A new video posted to Twitter shows a payment being taken by an Apple Store employee using what appears to be a standard iPhone, something that isn't possible without Tap to Pay. Apple Stores can currently accept Apple Pay via attachments that connect to iPhones and handle the payment, but that isn't what's happening here.
The video below also shows a fancy animation that confirms a payment has been successful.
The Apple Park Visitor Center is one of the only apple retail stores in the US to support contactless pay straight from an iPhone. Awesome to see in person! pic.twitter.com/GiFDiL56OO
— Michael (@NTFTWT) May 15, 2022
There is no indication of when we can expect this new Tap to Pay feature to roll out to other Apple Stores, but it seems like it will only be a matter of time before it happens. The same goes for other retailers that will no longer need attachments from the likes of Square in order to accept contactless payments via Apple Pay and cards.