Apple has announced that developers in several countries will be able to access the iPhone NFC chip for contactless transactions and more with new APIs as of the planned iOS 18.1 update.
The change means that developers will get to offer contactless transactions away from the infrastructure of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet for various applications. This includes in-store payments, car keys, closed-loop transit, corporate badges, student IDs, home keys, hotel keys, merchant loyalty and rewards cards, and event tickets. Support or government and official IDs will be added later.
To facilitate this change, Apple is introducing new developer tools, including dedicated APIs to use the iPhone NFC chip and Secure Element. The NFC and SE APIs are built around protecting the privacy of users and their data, leveraging the security protocols of the iPhone’s Secure Element, biometric authentication, and Apple’s servers.
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Third-party contactless transactions can be activated through apps directly, and users will be able to set a default contactless transaction app through the Settings app that will be activated when double-clicking the iPhone’s Side button instead of defaulting to the Wallet app interface.
Developers who wish to take advantage of the iPhone NFC chip must agree to a new set of terms and conditions before they’re granted access to the NFC and SE APIs. Approved developers based in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kindom, and the United States will have access to the new APIs in an upcoming iOS 18.1 beta build.
