Crypto Payments Are Coming to iPhones... Kind Of
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Crypto Payments Are Coming to iPhones... Kind Of

2 Minuten
2 years ago

Apple has unveiled a new feature called Tap to Pay, which will enable U.S. merchants to use an iPhone to accept contactless payments.

Crypto Payments Are Coming to iPhones... Kind Of

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Crypto payments may finally be coming to iPhones — kind of.

Apple has unveiled a new feature called Tap to Pay, which will enable U.S. merchants to use an iPhone to accept contactless payments.

This could prove to be a big shake-up for small businesses, who will no longer need to rely on dedicated credit card machines and other point-of-sale devices.

In a news release, the tech giant said the feature would support "Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets" — fueling speculation that the services offered by crypto exchanges would be compatible.

Apple Pay and Apple Wallet vice president Jennifer Bailey said the company wants to make it easier for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, adding:

"As more and more consumers are tapping to pay with digital wallets and credit cards, Tap to Pay on iPhone will provide businesses with a secure, private, and easy way to accept contactless payments and unlock new checkout experiences using the power, security, and convenience of iPhone."

Even before Bitcoin embarked on a dramatic bull run that began all the way back in October 2020 — which saw the asset's price accelerate from $10,000 to $69,000 — Bailey had suggested that she was open-minded when it came to crypto. Speaking to CNN in September 2019, she had said:

"We're watching cryptocurrency. We think it's interesting. We think it has interesting long-term potential."

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Tap to Pay is yet to launch later this year — and it's too early to say whether the feature will definitely support cryptocurrencies.

Consumers may still need to rely on their Visa-branded crypto debit cards, which have been issued by the likes of Coinbase and Crypto.com, in order to complete their transactions.

Polls performed by Visa have indicated that merchants are increasingly interested in accepting digital assets as a payment method — even despite their volatility.

Last year, PayPal announced that it would allow consumers in the U.S. to spend their crypto at millions of merchants around the world, with their funds converted into fiat before it hits a company's account.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also fueled excitement when he was speaking to The New York Times DealBook Online Summit back in November. He revealed that he is a crypto investor, adding he believes "it's reasonable to own it as part of a diversified portfolio."

However, Cook poured water on the idea that Apple would invest some of its considerable cash reserves into Bitcoin — a move taken by the likes of Tesla and MicroStrategy to combat inflation. He added:

"I don't think people buy Apple stock to get exposure to crypto."

It has been repeatedly rumored that Apple has bought billions of dollars in Bitcoin, but time and again this speculation proved false.

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