New iPhone feature will enable Bitcoin “tap to pay” transactions

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Apple Pay users will soon be able to use the iPhone’s Tap to Pay feature to make purchases of Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies at a range of popular stores and services shortly.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) revealed plans to include the new feature on February 8 that essentially turns its smartphone into a point-of-sale device for businesses and merchants. With the use of Near Field Communication (NFC), businesses with an iPhone can accept contactless payments using their mobile devices as a point-of-sale machine.

In a statement, Apple said the Tap to Pay feature will be available soon and will expand support for “Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook said:

“We just launched Tap to Pay on iPhone, a great way for millions of small businesses to accept contactless payments directly from their iPhone. It’s easy, secure and coming later this year.

Essentially, customers using Coinbase Card, Crypto.com Visa Card, or similar payment card will be able to use their cryptocurrency holdings to make payments through Tap to Pay, provided Apple does not establish a direct barrier to these transactions. .

Stripe selected as partner

It is worth mentioning that Apple has selected the payment platform Stripe, as the first partner for the Tap to Pay functionality of the iPhone, which last year received an investment of more than 350 million dollars from the Canadian giant. e-commerce company Shopify (NYSE:SHOP).

However, Apple also mentioned that Stripe would not be the only platform to enable payments, he said:

“Stripe will be the first payment platform to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to its business customers, including the Shopify Point of Sale app this spring. Other payment platforms and apps will follow later this year. »

Notably, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase merged with Apple Pay and Google Pay in August 2021, allowing customers to purchase cryptocurrencies on its site using their respective payment methods.

Although Bitcoin will likely not be accepted for direct purchases of goods and services, Apple Pay will convert the user’s cryptocurrency holdings to the dollar amount required by the merchant’s point-of-sale device in order to complete the payment. transaction.

Apple’s CEO Revealed His Personal Crypto Purchase in November

In November 2021, Apple CEO Tim Cook disclosed his personal purchase of cryptocurrencies as “part of a diversified portfolio” while simultaneously stating that the company had no immediate plans to use cryptocurrency as a method of payment for its products.

At the time, Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor responded to Cook’s claims that it could be worth at least a trillion dollars to shareholders if Apple added support for Bitcoin. tweeted:

“If Apple were to add Bitcoin support to the iPhone and convert its treasury to a Bitcoin standard, it would be worth at least a trillion dollars to its shareholders.”

Apple aims to make the Tap to Pay feature available in Apple Stores, as well as on iPhone XS and later models.

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