Apple is expanding Tap to Pay on iPhone across more of Europe

Apple is expanding its Tap to Pay on iPhone feature for merchants to five more countries in Europe. Businesses in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco and Norway will now be able to accept in-person contactless payments on their iPhones.

The functionality is limited to specific third-party iOS apps that vary by nation. For example, British fintech company SumUp will now support Tap to Pay on iPhone in its iOS app in four of the five new countries, since SumUp is not offered in Monaco.

Norway will see the most payment platforms gain access to Apple’s NFC payment tech, with over half a dozen platforms, including PayPal and Stripe, now supporting Tap to Pay on iPhone in the kingdom. Details on which merchant platforms were enabled by country can be found in Apple’s announcement.

Merchants using these now supported platforms will be able to accept Apple Pay as well as contactless credit and debit cards. Every transaction done using Tap to Pay on iPhone is encrypted and processed using Secure Element, a dedicated chip designed for storing sensitive information. Platforms wishing to use Apple’s NFC technology when accepting payments must enter into a commercial agreement with the tech giant and pay the associated fees.

Tap to Pay on iPhone is now available in 43 countries and regions worldwide. Merchants using approved platforms will not require any additional hardware to accept these payments.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-is-expanding-tap-to-pay-on-iphone-across-more-of-europe-163910943.html?src=rss