Apple Pay users will soon be able to carry out Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto payments at a variety of prominent retailers and services using the iPhone’s Tap to Pay feature.
On February 8, Apple announced intentions to incorporate a new function that basically turns its smartphone into a point-of-sale (POS) mechanism for enterprises and retailers. iPhone-owning companies can collect contactless payments by employing their smartphones as a POS mechanism thanks to near-field communication (NFC).
Apple stated in a release that the Tap to Pay function will be accessible in the near future, adding that it would accept “Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets.”
Tim Cook, The CEO of Apple confirmed that “we just introduced Tap to Pay on iPhone, a great way for millions of small businesses to accept contactless payments right from their iPhone. It’s easy, secure, and will be coming out later this year.”
Clients who have a Coinbase Card, Crypto.com Visa Card, or another comparable card will be able to use their crypto assets to conduct transactions via Tap to Pay, as long as Apple does not place a clear hindrance down the road.
For carrying out this option for its users Apple has chosen Stripe, a payment network that acquired a $350 million investment from the Canada-based eCommerce titan Shopify in 2021, as its first collaborator for the iPhone’s Tap to Pay function.
Nonetheless, Stripe will not be the only payment platform as Apple stated that “Stripe will be the first payment platform to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to their business customers, including the Shopify Point of Sale app this spring. Additional payment platforms and apps will follow later this year.”
Coinbase, for one, partnered with Apple Pay and Google Pay in August 2021, allowing customers to purchase cryptocurrencies on the platform where they had the option of picking the payment option of their preference.
Although Bitcoin (BTC) is unlikely to be accepted for outright payments for goods and services, Apple Pay will change a user’s crypto assets to the dollar amount asked by the point-of-sale gadget of the retailer in order for the purchase to go through.
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple revealed his own cryptocurrency acquisition in November 2021 as a means to diversify his portfolio while also noting that the tech giant has no current plans to accept crypto payments for the products of Apple.
Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor replied to Cook’s claims that adding Bitcoin (BTC) by saying that it would be $1 trillion dollars in the pocket of shareholders at least by tweeting: “if Apple were to add support for Bitcoin to the iPhone and convert their treasury to a Bitcoin Standard, it would be worth at least a trillion dollars to their shareholders.”
If @Apple were to add support for #Bitcoin to the iPhone and convert their treasury to a Bitcoin Standard, it would be worth at least a trillion dollars to their shareholders. $AAPLhttps://t.co/her5b6vhEB
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) November 9, 2021
Apple intends to make Tap to Pay accessible at Apple Stores including on the iPhone XS and upcoming devices in the future.