Apple Launches Tap to Pay on iPhone in Japan

[MacRumors]

Apple has announced Tap to Pay on iPhone in Japan, allowing independent sellers, small merchants, and large retailers in the country to use ‌iPhones‌ as a payment terminal.

Tap to Pay first arrived in February 2022 in the US, and allows iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets‌‌‌. All transactions are encrypted, and Apple has no information about what is purchased or the person who made the purchase.

No additional hardware or credit card machine is required‌ to use Tap to Pay on iPhone. The feature uses NFC technology to securely authenticate the contactless payments, plus the feature also supports PIN entry, which includes accessibility options.

"In Japan, a country where innovation and tradition merge, new payment methods have been introduced all over the country, and at the same time, the transition from cash payment to electronic payment is progressing rapidly on the consumer side," said Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. "We are very pleased that through our new partnership with the payment platform, we can provide iPhone touch payment that can seamlessly support contactless payments for millions of businesses. This allows almost all iPhones in the country to be used as payment terminals without additional hardware, reducing the cost of responding to electronic payments by Japanese businesses, making it easy and secure for customers, and protecting their privacy. It will be possible to provide a contactless payment experience."

GMO Financial Gate's stera tap app, Recruit's Air Pay Touch app, and Square's Square POS register app will be the first payment platforms in Japan to offer touch payment with iPhone to businesses, according to Apple. Additionally, Adyen will support it in the coming months, and it will also be available at Apple Stores in Japan. iPhone's touch payment supports contactless credit and debit cards from the four major payment networks: American Express, JCB, Mastercard, and Visa.

Tap to Pay on ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ requires ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ XS or newer models, and works for customers as any normal ‌‌‌‌Apple Pay‌‌‌‌ transaction would. Sellers just need to open up the app, register the sale, and present their ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ to the buyer, who can then use an appropriate contactless payment method.

Japan becomes the ninth region to support Tap to Pay, following similar rollouts in the U.K., Australia, Taiwan, Brazil, Ukraine, France, and the Netherlands last year.

Article Link: Apple Launches Tap to Pay on iPhone in Japan

 

[The Apple Bitch]

I live in Sweden but I'm always happy when Apple announces new features even though they often aren't available here.

I like that they implement so many ways for my device to do useful things so I don't need to have other tools.

🔥🔥🔥

 

[lk400]

Hard to see this taking over from PayPay who kind of have this market cornered here.

 

[The Apple Bitch]

Hard to see this taking over from PayPay who kind of have this market cornered here.

Yes, that's true, but with 60% of the population having iPhones it might possibly rival.

Mobile Operating System Market Share Japan | Statcounter Global Stats

This graph shows the market share of mobile operating systems in Japan based on over 5 billion monthly page views.

gs.statcounter.com

Android is currently on the rise but that might only be because of their current economic situation.

 

[arc of the universe]

Hard to see this taking over from PayPay who kind of have this market cornered here.

is pay pay NFC??? didn't know that.

i thought it was camera QR / bar code.

 

[kk200]

is pay pay NFC??? didn't know that.

i thought it was camera QR / bar code.

then it works better

 

[jlwarlow]

is pay pay NFC??? didn't know that.

i thought it was camera QR / bar code.

It's tap your card/device on the iPhone instead of having to have a seperate Squaze/Zettle device. You still need the Square/Zettle app to take the payment but the app can now use the NFC on the iPhone instead of slow unreliable bluetooth connection to a device to put the card/tap. Only downside of phone only is if the payer can't pay via contactless (hit their contactless limits where you need to insert can and enter PIN) then they won't be able to pay this pay.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Apple Pay is the absolute best. Fast, secure, easy to use, reliable etc….its the old cliche but its true…how did I live without it?

 

[LukeHarrison]

Tap-to-pay has been a game changer for me. Selling band merch at the back of grimy venues becomes so much easier when you can take contactless card payments.

 

[lk400]

is pay pay NFC??? didn't know that.

i thought it was camera QR / bar code.

It is certainly QR / Barcode. But the small operations that this is suited for all already use PayPay which is simple to use and the market is already comfortable with it. I disliked the seemingly lower tech of PayPay initially, but it’s very convenient and really no less convenient than Apple Pay / one of the many fragmented payment systems here. It’s also hands free. For example one person food shops just look at the screen to check the amount and hear the “PayPay” sound and it’s done.

 

[TheIguana]

Why is this taking so long to roll out in other countries? It seems truly bizarre that this is not available in places like Canada yet.

 

[svish]

Glad to see it expanding. Waiting for it to launch in India

 

[garyjones027]

Why is this taking so long to roll out in other countries? It seems truly bizarre that this is not available in places like Canada yet.

Tap to pay by iPhone is now available in Canada.

www.macrumors.com/2024/05/23/tap-to-pay-on-iphone-launches-in-canada/