Apple is expanding Tap to Pay on iPhone across more of Europe

Apple is expanding its Tap to Pay on iPhone feature, allowing merchants in five more European countries to accept in-person contactless payments using their iPhones. The functionality is limited to specific third-party iOS apps, which vary by nation. The expansion includes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco, and Norway, with Norway seeing the most payment platforms gain access to Apple's NFC payment tech, including PayPal and Stripe. Merchants using these supported platforms can accept Apple Pay and contactless credit/debit cards, with all transactions encrypted and processed using Secure Element, a dedicated chip designed for storing sensitive information. Platforms wishing to use Apple's NFC technology must enter into a commercial agreement with the tech giant and pay the associated fees. Tap to Pay on iPhone is now available in 43 countries and regions worldwide, and merchants using approved platforms will not require any additional hardware to accept these payments.