Apple Opens USDC Stablecoin Payment Opportunities Through IPhone Features

Apple presents a payment feature with USDC. (Photo; Doc. BTC Echo)

JAKARTA - The US tech giant, Apple, continues to drive technological innovation by expanding its Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities on iOS 18.1, bringing the contactless payment feature to a higher level.

In its latest announcement, the tech giant revealed that developers can now leverage security elements in iPhone apps for NFC transactions, not only limited to Apple Pay and Wallet.

This feature will support various transactions such as buying in stores, digital keys, identity cards, and much more. This step demonstrates Apple's commitment to expanding their technology ecosystem by providing more options for users and developers.

USDC Payments Through Tap To Pay

While Apple continues to develop its technology, Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, is also making significant steps by integrating payments using USDC through the Tap to Pay feature on the iPhone.

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, explained that while this development is not directly related to Apple or Apple Pay, this integration allows users to make payments simply by attaching their phones, using USDC as a means of payment.

Prior to this update, access to NFC technology on iPhone for payment was only owned by Apple's Wallet and Apple Pay apps. However, with this new feature, the point-of-sale (PoS) system can set blockchain addresses and payment numbers to iPhones, allowing users to confirm payments using security features like FaceID and start blockchain-based USDC transactions to complete purchases.

Allaire also added that Apple's decision to open NFC access on the iPhone is not only limited to USDC usage. It also opens up opportunities for the use of other technologies such as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) for tickets or certificates, as well as the use of other stablecoins such as the EURC.

The move is seen as a great opportunity for digital wallet developers to start leveraging Apple's latest features and preparing their apps to support Tap to Pay payments using USDC.