In 2016, Apple brought NFC to the iPhone. As you may remember, this enabled iPhones to complete “tap-to-pay” transactions on compatible POS readers – a key piece of the Apple Pay puzzle. It then spent the ensuing years forming partnerships with retailers and POS providers to achieve ubiquity.
Now comes the next piece in the puzzle: accepting payments via NFC. Specifically, Bloomberg reports that Apple will activate its massive network of NFC chips to accept payments. The difference is that since the iPhone 7 – and in the above scenarios – NFC has been a one-way street for payments.
SMB Optionality
Practically speaking, this could mean that every SMB with an iPhone 7 or later suddenly has a POS terminal. No Square readers… No Clover terminals… Just an iPhone. In fairness, all of the above hardware still has its place, considering the need for a professional front-end POS in retail.
But NFC payments could come in handy for highly-mobile SMBs. We’re talking home services or anyone that operates out of a truck. Of course, many such professionals have already gotten savvy with cloud-based digital payments (sans POS hardware) such as Venmo or Zelle.
Either way, NFC could mean optionality. Mobile payments have always had a steep adoption curve because it’s inherently anchored in habit and security-bound comfort levels. For some SMBs wary of pixie-dust mobile payments through Venmo, the physical phone tap could resonate.
As for timing, Bloomberg reports that this will start rolling out in the next few months, possibly baked into iOS 15.4 due this spring. The slick part is that the NFC chips are already there… all of the above can be activated through a software update. Our phones are basically sleeper agents.
Tracking Clues
One of the clues that Bloomberg points to is Apple’s acquisition of Mobeewave, which develops software that turns a phone into a POS. In fact, the company previously worked with Samsung to do that very thing, which was marketed at the time as Samsung POS through a pilot program in Canada.
But like many Apple acquisitions, this was kept quiet until found through some investigative reporting. On that note, it should be reiterated that this is unconfirmed by Apple. And all of the above is speculation based on the rumor. Still, it could be impactful if true, and we’ll keep watching for clues.
