Thanks To The Tap To Pay Feature, IPhone Users Can Directly Buy Bitcoins
JAKARTA - Apple has announced plans to launch Tap to Pay for iPhone. This new feature will effectively turn a smartphone into a point-of-sale device for businesses and merchants.
The announcement also explains that with Tap to Pay, merchants who own iPhones receive contactless payments using their mobile device as a point-of-sale machine thanks to near-field communication technology, or NFC.
According to Apple, the soon-to-be-launched Tap to Pay feature will expand support to "Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets." This basically means that unless Apple puts in place an immediate barrier to it, customers using a Coinbase Card, Crypto.com Visa Card or similar payment card will be able to use their cryptocurrency holdings to make payments via Tap to Pay.
While Apple has announced Stripe, the Irish-American fintech, as the first platform to offer the Tap to Pay feature on iPhone, the company clarified that "additional payment platforms and apps will follow later this year."
Back in August 2021, major crypto exchange Coinbase integrated with Apple Pay and Google Pay, allowing users to buy crypto assets on its platform. As Cointelegraph reports, the move allows United States-based customers to buy crypto using bank-issued debit and credit cards via major payments platform Apple Pay.
In June 2021, Coinbase launched the Coinbase Card, which allows users to spend cryptocurrency across multiple mainstream channels.
“Coinbase will automatically convert all cryptocurrencies to US Dollars and transfer funds to your Coinbase Card (less conversion fees) for use in ATM purchases and withdrawals,” their announcement read.
After that, crypto exchange Crypto.com launched a similar offering called Crypto.com Visa Card, which can be added to Apple Pay and other major digital wallets.
"Tap to Pay on iPhone will work with contactless credit and debit cards from leading payment networks, including American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa," reads an announcement at Apple.
Considering Coinbase's ability to convert users' crypto holdings to fiat in real-time for payments, Apple Pay users will be able to use iPhone's Tap to Pay feature to make crypto payments across major merchants and businesses.
While Apple Pay will most likely not allow direct purchases of goods and services via Bitcoin (BTC), it will change a user's crypto holdings to match the dollar amount demanded by the merchant's point-of-sale machine to make the purchase.
In November 2021, Apple CEO Tim Cook disclosed private purchases of cryptocurrencies as “part of a diversified portfolio” while highlighting there are no immediate plans to accept crypto as a means of payment for Apple products.
Apple intends to roll out the Tap to Pay feature on the Apple Store, iPhone XS, and newer devices.
Cash App, a mobile payment service developed and owned by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's Block, also announced compatibility with the Bitcoin Lightning Network for BTC transfers.
With the launch of the new feature, Cash App users can make faster BTC transactions across mainstream businesses. As Cointelegraph reports, the company has made the feature available everywhere in the United States apart from New York.