The American financial service and digital payment company, Block formerly known as, Square, Inc is officially partnering wth Apple’s iPhone to integrate ‘Tap to Pay’ Square payments. The new technology feature is in the process of testing and it is only limited to some sellers but the feature will be rolled out to others subsequently after it’s release.
Square Partner’s with Apple
Jack Dorsey’s Square announced on Thursday that it will begin to support Apple’s Tap to Pay with a beta test arriving this summer as part of the company’s Early Access Program. They did not specify when the program would start but they said that the sellers would be selected through the early access program and work closely until the payment integration is complete. The sellers would be able to accept in-person contactless payment with only their iPhone and a Square Point-Of-Sales(POS) app and users will as well be able to make contactless payments without the need for any additional hardware.
David Talach, Head of financial services at Square said “Square’s purpose is rooted in economic empowerment, which is why we’ve always offered a free way for businesses to get started using our services. Bringing Tap to pay on iPhone into the Square ecosystem ensures that new sellers will have another free option to get up and running, while providing businesses of any complexity with more flexibility to adapt their commerce experiences to evolving consumer preferences and changing industry trend.
NEW FEATURE ON APPLE(TAP TO PAY)
Apple first made the announcement in February that it’s ‘Tap to pay’ feature would be launching later this year with Stripe and Shopify point being the first merchants to offer the feature to business customers in the United States. The Tap to pay aims at enabling businesses to accept digital payments and credit card with just a tap on their Iphones, bypassing the Square’s terminals. The development will use near field communications(NFC) technology for making all kinds of payment, Apple said. The ‘Tap to Pay’ feature is available for only iPhone XS or later devices.
After the news broke out on Thursday, Squares shares spiked 7% reaching their weekly peak of $89 and Apple shares also closed 1.7% higher at $151.21. Apple has been adding new fintech services since 2019 after it launched it’s credit card in collaboration with Goldman Sachs(GS.N).
It is reported that the tech giants are also working on a new technology feature ‘buy now, pay later’. Information has not yet been revealed about the development, Shannon Cross from Cross Research revealed to Reuters that “Apple views payments as an important standalone business for the company and they are looking to leverage it. Them venturing into contactless payment is an indication on how important payments are as a business for the company.”
