Apple outlined plans to make the iPhone a payments terminal, enabling businesses to accept funds on the smartphone in place of dedicated devices.

Tap to Pay on iPhone will be available to software developers to enable them to integrate the service with iOS apps which merchants can then use to accept payments.

Apple explained the system is compatible with contactless debit and credit cards, and Apple Pay.

The company has faced regulatory pressure over its payment systems, with the European Commission reportedly concerned about Apple unfairly favouring its own payment system by not enabling contactless cards to communicate with NFC chips in iPhones.

Apple stated the service will encrypt all transactions and it will not receive details of purchases.

For business owners, Tap to Pay probably will not eliminate the need to purchase payment terminals because it only works for iPhone users.

Apple announced financial services company Stripe will be the first developer to integrate the system, planning to use it in point-of-sale app Shopify.

Freelance tech journalist Martha DeGrasse (@mardegrasse) is delighted to be contributing to Mobile World Live. Martha has written for a number of telecom and wireless publications, and was a writer, editor and video producer at RCR Wireless News for almost...

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