Apple today announced that Tap to Pay on iPhone is available in Germany, providing a way for independent sellers, small businesses, and larger merchants in the country to use an iPhone as a contactless payment terminal.
Retailers can take advantage of the NFC chip in the iPhone to accept credit and debit card payments, Apple Pay, and other tap-based payment methods. Tap to Pay on iPhone works similarly to hardware-based payment systems like the Square Reader, but it does not require additional hardware to work.
When a customer makes a purchase, a merchant that supports Tap to Pay on iPhone can accept a payment by having the customer bring a credit card, debit card, prepaid card, iPhone, Apple Watch, or other digital wallet close to the merchant's iPhone. The transaction is completed through NFC, with processing done using the Secure Element for security purposes.
Tap to Pay on iPhone is available to payment platforms and payment app developers in Germany. Adyen, Commerz Globalpay, myPOS, Nexi, SumUp, and Viva support Tap to Pay on iPhone starting today, with mollie, PAYONE, Revolut, Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, and Stripe set to implement support later in the year.
Since Tap to Pay on iPhone first launched in the United States in February 2022, Apple has been working to expand it to additional countries. It is now available in 12 countries, including United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Brazil, Italy, France, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Germany.
Tap to Pay on iPhone is compatible with the iPhone XS and newer, so iPhones manufactured since September 2018 can use it. Tap to Pay also requires a contactless card or device, and it is compatible with cards from American Express, Global Discover Network, Diners, Mastercard, and Visa.
