After supporting third-party iPhone wallets and NFC usage in the EU due to the Digital Markets Act, Apple has announced that in-app NFC transactions using the Secure Element will be available to developers internationally, starting with iOS 18.1. Interestingly, this comes while the US Justice Department accuses Apple of antitrust due to the App Store.
In a newsroom post, Apple says developers will be able to offer NFC contactless transactions using the Secure Element from within their own apps on iPhone, separate from Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.
Using the new NFC and SE (Secure Element) APIs, developers will be able to offer in-app contactless transactions for in-store payments, car keys, closed-loop transit, corporate badges, student IDs, home keys, hotel keys, merchant loyalty and rewards cards, and event tickets. Government IDs will also be supported in the future.
Apple says this solution was designed to “provide developers with a secure way to offer NFC contactless transactions from within their iOS apps.” The company explains that to make a contactless transaction within an app that utilizes these APIs, users can either open the app directly or set the app as their default contactless app in iOS Settings and double-click the side button on iPhone to initiate a transaction.
Still, developers who choose to offer third-party iPhone wallets will have to enter a new commercial agreement with Apple, request the NFC and SE entitlement, and pay the associated fees.
Apple says this is necessary to ensure that only authorized developers who “meet certain industry and regulatory requirements and commit to Apple’s ongoing security and privacy standards can access the relevant APIs.”
The NFC and SE APIs will be available to developers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. in an upcoming developer seed for iOS 18.1, with additional locations to follow. BGR will let you know once you can add a third-party iPhone wallet in these regions once we learn more about it.
