Apple has finally brought Tap to Pay on iPhone to Malaysia, which is a pretty big deal for anyone running a business.
Basically, it turns an iPhone into a payment terminal, meaning merchants can ditch those clunky card terminal and take contactless payments directly on their iPhone. It is aimed at everyone from small market stalls to big retail chains, provided they are using an iPhone 11 or newer, running the latest iOS version.
The setup is straightforward for the customer too. When you are ready to pay, you just tap your contactless card, iPhone, or Apple Watch against the merchant’s phone. It uses the same near-field communication (NFC) tech we are all used to, making the whole checkout process feel a lot more seamless.
To get things moving in Malaysia, Apple is partnering with payment platforms like ADAPTIS, Fiuu, HitPay, Stripe, and Zoho. These providers are integrating the tech into their apps for all sorts of industries, whether you are getting a haircut or grabbing lunch. The service supports all the heavy hitters in the payment world, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and the local MyDebit network, plus digital wallets like Apple Pay.
On the security front, Apple is sticking to its usual guns regarding privacy. Every transaction is encrypted and handled through the Secure Element on the device. Crucially, Apple does not actually know what you are buying or who is doing the shopping, so the data stays between you and the merchant.