Reuters, January 27, 2022, Apple to turn iPhones into payment terminals, rival Square – Bloomberg
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is planning a new service that will allow small businesses to accept payments directly on their iPhones without connecting any extra hardware such as Block Inc’s (SQ.N) Square terminals, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.
The new feature turns the iPhone itself into a payment terminal and will let merchants accept fees with the tap of a credit card or another iPhone onto the back of their device, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
If the iPhone maker keeps its new service exclusive to its apps or payments system, it would bypass Square’s services that are used widely by small businesses. It could also affect other point-of-sale machine makers such as Verifone and Ingenico.
The company has been beefing up its fintech services. It launched its own credit card with Goldman Sachs (GS.N) in 2019 and is reportedly working on a “buy, pay later” service.
