iPhones to soon accept contactless payments directly: Report

Small businesses will soon be able to use iPhones to accept payments without the need for additional Square-style hardware, according to a report by Bloomberg. The feature has been anticipated since Apple bought contactless payments company Mobeewave in 2020, and Bloomberg now says it could arrive via a software update "in the coming months."

Mobeewave previously worked with Samsung on similar NFC functionality, testing a system called Samsung POS in the startup's home country of Canada in 2019 before rolling it out worldwide. Samsung POS enabled Samsung phones to accept payments directly from contactless cards and NFC payment services such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay.

The Bloomberg report says it's unclear whether Mobeewave's technology will be branded as part of the Apple Pay service, or whether Apple will use its own payment network or launch with an existing partner. Reportedly, Mobeewave staff have been working in Apple's payments division since the acquisition.

iOS 15.3 was released today, though it was more of a critical bug fix than a feature-based point release. According to Bloomberg, Apple is expected to release the first beta version of iOS 15.4 soon, which may be when we first see the contactless payment feature.