Apple has announced that the iOS 18.1 update will allow developers to use their apps for NFC contactless transactions, with some restrictions beneath. This is a big change, as so far it has been more complicated to get access to NFC features on an iPhone than on Android — Apple had locked down support for reading tags but not writing them.
More About Apple and NFC
Cupertino has also announced that a developer seed will be available for the just-issued iOS 18.1 beta shortly. The iPhone only recently opened up NFC access to 3rd party apps in the EU because of new European Commission regulations. Right now, only developers can code NFC with access in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, UK, US, and EU. The tech giant has confirmed that more developers around the world will follow suit soon.
As part of this NFC update, the Secure Element will be more accessible for third-party developers when it comes to offering their applications contactless transactions via NFC other than Apple Pay and also using the Apple Wallet. It clearly indicates we are about to get NFC on iPhones for contactless transactions.
Currently, the only implementation of tap-to-pay via NFC in India is Apple Pay which isn’t even present here. There is no word on when Indian developers will be supported, but it can happen anytime. Following this move, owners of iPhones in India should ideally be able to initiate tap-and-go transactions using their devices.
How does this work? A commercial agreement with Apple is required for any developer to use the new NFC and SE (Secure Element) APIs for In-app contactless transactions. To provide this, they must pay for service and request NFC and SE entitlements. Qualcomm has built the commercial agreement in such a way that NFC transactions can only be offered by licensed developers and need to meet industry standards.
Apple charges these fees as a way to preserve user security and privacy on contactless transactions from Apple Pay, which uses the company´s Secure Enclave technology, biometric authentication -such as Face ID or Touch ID- and its own servers. The Secure Element is a special chip used to store sensitive information that can be called over NFC. For those not familiar with it,
Beyond in-store payments, NFC functionality can be used for car keys, closed-loop transit, corporate badges, student IDs, home keys, hotel keys, merchant loyalty and rewards cards, and event tickets. Apple also plans to support government IDs via NFC soon. In related news, Apple has begun rolling out iOS 18 public beta 4 to eligible users globally. This is the final update before the iOS 18.1 public beta release.
FAQs
Which iOS update allows third-party apps to use NFC for transactions?
The iOS 18.1 update enables this feature.
Is NFC tap-to-pay available for iPhone users in India?
Not yet, but it’s expected to be available soon.
