Apple Will Present Third-Party NFC Capabilities At IOS 18.1

Illustration of the use of third-party NFC (photo: dock. Apple)

JAKARTA In addition to launching Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.1, Apple will present a new feature that many developers have been waiting for. Through this feature, developers can use NFC with different systems. Currently, NFC transactions across various applications are still connected to Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. However, once iOS 18.1 is launched, developers in the App Store can add separate NFC transactions with Apple's payment methods. This new feature uses API Secure Element (SE) to add contactless payments from third parties. Developers can offer NFC as regular payments in stores, car keys, home keys, hotel keys, event tickets, and much more. "To perform contactless transactions in applications that take advantage of this API, users can open applications directly or set applications as their default contactless applications in iOS Settings and double-click iPhone side buttons," Apple said. The latest NFC feature still prioritizes security. The SE used is an industrial certified chip that is designed to store sensitive information securely. Therefore, user privacy will be well maintained.

Before entering this new capability into the app, App Store developers must first make a commercial agreement with Apple. They must request the right to use NFC and SE, then pay the predetermined costs. When iOS 18.1 is officially launched, the NFC and SE APIs will be available to developers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. Apple said that other additional locations would follow.