With iOS 18.1, developers will be able to offer in-app contactless transactions
Apple announced today that starting with iOS 18.1, developers will be able to offer secure contactless transactions from within their iOS apps using the Secure Element (SE) which helps keep your transaction information safe and away from the prying eyes of criminals. Apple defines the Secure Element as "an industry-standard, certified chip designed to store sensitive information securely on device.
Instead of having third-party developers run their contactless transactions through Apple Pay or the Apple Wallet, new NFC and SE APIs for developers will allow the latter to offer consumers contactless transactions for in-store payments, car keys, home keys, hotel keys, closed-loop transit, corporate badges, student IDs, merchant loyalty and rewards cards, and event tickets. Government IDs will be supported in the future.
Apple says that the NFC and SE APIs will be available to developers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. following a developer update for iOS 18.1. The tech giant also notes that the APIs will also be available to developers in other countries as well. To get access to the new APIs, authorized developers will need to meet certain conditions. Developers will also have to enter into a commercial agreement with Apple, "request the NFC and SE entitlement from Apple," and pay certain fees. Ka-Ching!
"As users’ security and privacy is of the utmost importance to Apple, this new solution was designed to provide developers with a secure way to offer NFC contactless transactions from within their iOS apps. The NFC and SE APIs leverage the Secure Element — an industry-standard, certified chip designed to store sensitive information securely on device. 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."-Apple
To make a contactless transaction in an app using the NFC and SE APIs, you can open the app directly or have the app set as the default contactless app in iOS Settings. If you do that, to initiate a transaction you double-click the side button on the iPhone. The process sounds the same as when you use Apple Pay or Apple Wallet except that you are making the contactless transaction through a developer's app.
Originally, the EU's Digital Market Act (DMA) was pressuring Apple to open up its NFC payment platform to third-party app developers but Apple decided to open up the feature in other markets. And by creating the new NFC and SE APIs for third-party developers to use, these developers can bypass Apple Pay and Apple Wallet completely which should prevent the EU from claiming that Apple is still in control of contactless transactions for third-party developers.
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