Circle, the company behind the popular stablecoin USDC, is set to introduce tap-to-pay payments on iPhones after Apple decided to allow third-party developers access to its secure payment chip.
“Tap to pay with USDC on iPhone is coming soon. Wallet developers, start preparing,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a recent post on X.
The new feature is expected to take advantage of Apple's Near Field Communication (NFC) chip and Secure Element (SE), which were previously limited to Apple's Wallet app and Apple Pay.
Blockchain-Based Payments Coming to iPhone Devices
Apple's recent decision to open up these important technologies facilitates the integration of blockchain-based payment systems into the iPhone ecosystem.
This will enable direct payments in USDC at points of sale, with wallet apps on iPhones prompting users to confirm transactions via features like FaceID, while also settling directly on the blockchain.
Allaire highlighted the potential of this development, arguing that combining iPhone technology with high-performance, low-fee blockchain networks could create a powerful new path for direct USDC payments to merchants.
“This would allow [the point of sale] to inform the iPhone of the blockchain address it will accept USDC from, or the amount to be paid, and then the wallet app on the iPhone could prompt the user to confirm the payment (like with FaceID) and initiate a transaction on the blockchain to pay in USDC,” Allaire said.
“Combine this with high performance and low fee blockchain networks (most of them today), this opens up a strong path for direct USDC payments to merchants.”
Furthermore, the impact of this move by Apple does not stop at USDC.
Allaire believes that opening up NFC access could also be applied to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), other stablecoins like EURC, and many other digital certificates.
However, this new feature will only be available initially in a few countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.
Notably, the European Union is not mentioned in Apple's rollout.
Meanwhile, MetaMask is making its own moves in the payments space, with the pilot launch of a self-custody debit card in partnership with Mastercard and Baanx, allowing users in the UK and EU to make purchases directly from their crypto wallets.
Payment Companies Accepting Cryptocurrencies
In April, fintech giant Stripe announced its decision to once again allow customers to accept cryptocurrency payments after a six-year hiatus.
The company started with USDC stablecoins on Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon blockchains.
In 2014, Stripe experimented with Bitcoin, the pioneering digital currency. However, in 2018, the company decided to stop supporting Bitcoin due to its volatility and lack of usability as a medium of exchange.
In addition to Stripe, other payment companies have also accepted stablecoins as a means of payment.
Recently, Singapore-based payments company Triple-A announced plans to integrate PayPal’s stablecoin into its list of supported tokens for customer payments.
As the first licensed crypto payments company in Singapore, Triple-A aims to introduce support for PayPal’s stablecoin, PYUSD, by the end of June.
Currently, the company offers payment services primarily in Bitcoin, Ether, and stablecoins issued by Tether and Circle.
