You’ll be able to use the iPhone’s NFC transactions separately from Apple Pay and Wallet and even set the app as your default contactless app.
More NFC functionality is coming soon to iPhone users everywhere as Apple now permits developers to offer secure contactless transactions in their apps. Reuters reported last November that Apple was considering opening the iPhone’s near-field communication (NFC) chip to stave off regulatory action in the European Union.
It gets better, as you’ll be able to set the app as your default contactless app in Settings. Doing so will bring up a third-party interface when you double-click the iPhone’s side button to initiate a transaction. So basically, apps like Google Wallet will now be able to compete with Apple’s Wallet more fairly than before.
This is a big change as Apple used to keep the iPhone’s NFC chip exclusive to the Wallet app and Apple Pay. Makers of NFC-enabled accessories can now write apps that interact with the accessory using the built-in NFC chip. Virtual wallets like Google Wallet, payment apps like PayPal and banking apps like Revolut will be able to offer in-app NFC transactions separate from Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.
iOS 18.1 opens up the iPhone’s NFC to developers
According to Apple, contactless NFC transactions will be supported for in-store payments, car keys, closed-loop transit, corporate badges, student IDs, home keys, hotel keys, merchant loyalty and rewards cards, and event tickets. Government IDs will gain support for NFC in the future.
However, developers will need to pay Apple fees to access NFC. “To incorporate this new solution in their iPhone apps, developers will need to enter into a commercial agreement with Apple, request the NFC and SE entitlement and pay the associated fees,” says an August 14 announcement in the Apple Newsroom.
The iPhone maker argues that the fees ensure only “authorized developers who meet certain industry and regulatory requirements, and commit to Apple’s ongoing security and privacy standards,” can access the relevant APIs.
iOS 18.1 includes the new NFC and SE APIs
An upcoming iOS 18.1 beta will provide the NFC and SE APIs to developers. At first, only developers signed on the Apple Developer Program in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan and New Zealand will be permitted to use the new APIs, but the company will expand access in the future.
Apple says the new APIs use the Secure Element, a cryptographic coprocessor embedded into Apple silicon that stores sensitive information securely on device, like your Apple Pay tokens and facial data.
“Apple has dedicated significant resources to design a solution that protects users’ security and privacy, leveraging a number of Apple’s proprietary hardware and software technologies when making a contactless transaction, including the Secure Enclave, biometric authentication and Apple servers,” it explains.