PayPal and Venmo Launch Tap to Pay on iPhone for U.S. Businesses

[MacRumors]

PayPal today announced that Tap to Pay on iPhone is now widely available for businesses that use the Venmo and PayPal Zettle apps in the U.S., allowing them to accept contactless payments directly on an iPhone, with no additional hardware required.

More details from the announcement:

With Tap to Pay on iPhone, Venmo business profile and PayPal Zettle users in the U.S. can get set up in minutes and begin securely accepting contactless cards and digital wallets directly on their iPhones. They can also add taxes, accept tips, send receipts, and issue refunds. In addition, funds from sales will settle quickly into a business's Venmo or PayPal Zettle account, helping to streamline operations and manage cash flow.

PayPal had already been testing Tap to Pay on iPhone with an early access program, and the feature is now available to all merchants.

Launched in the U.S. in 2022, Tap to Pay on iPhone allows for iPhone-to-iPhone contactless payments, with no additional point-of-sale hardware from companies like Square or Clover required. The feature allows customers to tap their iPhone or Apple Watch, credit card, or other contactless payment option on the merchant's iPhone. Payment is securely completed using the same NFC technology behind Apple Pay.

Apple has gradually expanded Tap to Pay on iPhone to additional countries, such as Australia, France, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and the U.K. Other popular payment platforms that support the feature include Square and Stripe.

Article Link: PayPal and Venmo Launch Tap to Pay on iPhone for U.S. Businesses

 

[turbineseaplane]

This is very cool!

 

[itsMaxDigital]

Whats the difference between this and APPLE PAY ? Arent customers still just tapping their phones to pay with their credit cards on their iphone/watch ? 🤔

 

[I7guy]

Whats the difference between this and APPLE PAY ? Arent customers still just tapping their phones to pay with their credit cards on their iphone/watch ? 🤔

I’m guessing you have to setup a proper account.

 

[maxfromdenmark]

Whats the difference between this and APPLE PAY ? Arent customers still just tapping their phones to pay with their credit cards on their iphone/watch ? 🤔

Apple Pay is for paying only. Tap to pay gives smaller business ability to use an iPhone as a terminal for getting payment. Imagine strawberries seller on Sunday farmers market to whom you can pay with Apple Pay

 

[boak]

Whats the difference between this and APPLE PAY ? Arent customers still just tapping their phones to pay with their credit cards on their iphone/watch ? 🤔

Apple Pay is for giving, Tap to Pay is for receiving.

 

[j26]

I'm pretty sure I've paid for items (android) phone to (android) phone before. I think PayPal and Square do it.
It's really useful for small traders that I deal with in my hobbies.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Whats the difference between this and APPLE PAY ? Arent customers still just tapping their phones to pay with their credit cards on their iphone/watch ? 🤔

This is for businesses with a full on Merchant Account, and full on EIN number, not just sending money back and forth.

 

[ignatius345]

This will be handy for Venmo (which a lot of people I know use).

Also, the other night I ran into someone I hadn't seen in a long time and we exchanged info -- freaked him out by holding my iPhone next to his and doing that new contact sharing thing, which he had never seen before. The whole top of the display does this trippy "liquid" animation.

 

[jaytv111]

This will be handy for Venmo (which a lot of people I know use).

Yes but this is for merchants, so just having a Venmo doesn't mean you have this ability, you need a Venmo merchant account. This is for receiving payments (which can be from phones or contactless cards) as a merchant.

 

[ignatius345]

Yes but this is for merchants, so just having a Venmo doesn't mean you have this ability, you need a Venmo merchant account. This is for receiving payments (which can be from phones or contactless cards) as a merchant.

Ah, thanks, I misunderstood that.

 

[AnamanFan]

Tap to Pay is a game changer for Point-of-Sale apps. Before, you always had to have some hardware piece in order to process transactions. Which is a huge barrier of entry for merchants. With Tap to Pay, merchants can try out the app and do the boop transactions to test it out.

You still need hardware in order to do swipe or chip transactions, which in some markets are still exclusively used by customers. But at least a merchant can get up-and-running with boops right away.

Someone else will need to confirm, but I bet this PayPal / Venmo functionality is only for merchant transactions, meaning PayPal takes their cut from the transaction. Not for personal "free" transactions.

Sadly Tap to Pay is not available for iPads of any class; no NFC hardware to make it work. Which makes for awkward conversations trying to tell people they can't use the POS iPad for Tap-To-Pay and need additional hardware.

 

[artifex]

I wonder how strong Venmo fraud protection is for businesses, or if the cost of supporting that method is going to outweigh the extra convenience to customers.

 

[CloneBB]

No Apple Pay? No business from me.

 

[Apple blogger]

Does apple charge vendors, or PayPal/square to integrate Tap to pay?