Tap to Pay on iPhone has today launched in France, the eighth country to get access to the ultra-convenient payment system for small businesses – though some major brands are also adopting it.
Nine banks and financial service companies are on board for the launch, with others joining the French rollout “soon” …
Tap to Pay on iPhone
Originally, small businesses that wanted to accept card payments had to buy or rent an expensive dedicated card terminal. The first models were wired, before wireless versions took over.
A neater and cheaper solution then emerged, in the form of small contactless payment devices that used a Bluetooth connection to an iPhone. The business would enter the amount into an iPhone app, and the consumer would tap the contactless device to pay.
Tap to Pay on iPhone makes things even more convenient, doing away with the need for the separate contactless box. Instead, the consumer taps their card, iPhone, or Apple Watch against the iPhone owned by the business.
The feature was first announced in February of last year, with a gradual rollout in the US through a growing range of payment processors. It later expanded internationally to Taiwan, Australia, the UK, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Ukraine.
Now live in France
Apple has today announced the French launch.
The Tap to Pay service on iPhone is available to payment platforms and app developers in France, who can integrate it with their iOS apps and offer it as a payment acceptance option to their business customers.
The BPCE Group (Banques Populaires, Caisses d’Epargne and Payplug) and the companies Adyen, myPOS, Revolut, SumUp, Viva Wallet and Worldline now offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to their French professional clientele, and they will soon be joined by BNP Paribas, Crédit Coopératif, Market Pay, Stancer and Stripe.
It’s interesting to note that it’s not just small businesses which are adopting it, but some major brands too.
As of today, Tap to Pay on iPhone is available in all Apple Stores in France, and is being deployed in many points of sale, including those of Christian Dior Couture, belonging to the LVMH group, Dyson, Rituals and Sézane. The Addition has integrated Tap to Pay on iPhone into its cashing system used by thousands of restaurants in France. Sephora, which is also part of the LVMH group, will deploy Tap to Pay on iPhone in the coming weeks in its stores in France.
Technically, France is the eighth ‘region’ to get access to the service, as the list of countries includes Taiwan. While the rest of the world effectively views it and treats it as a country, both governments and companies use the diplomatic term ‘region.’
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