Apple Launches Tap to Pay on iPhone in Japan

Apple has announced Tap to Pay on iPhone in Japan, allowing independent sellers, small merchants, and large retailers in the country to use ‌iPhones‌ as a payment terminal.

Tap to Pay first arrived in February 2022 in the US, and allows iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets‌‌‌. All transactions are encrypted, and Apple has no information about what is purchased or the person who made the purchase.

No additional hardware or credit card machine is required‌ to use Tap to Pay on iPhone. The feature uses NFC technology to securely authenticate the contactless payments, plus the feature also supports PIN entry, which includes accessibility options.

"In Japan, a country where innovation and tradition merge, new payment methods have been introduced all over the country, and at the same time, the transition from cash payment to electronic payment is progressing rapidly on the consumer side," said Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. "We are very pleased that through our new partnership with the payment platform, we can provide iPhone touch payment that can seamlessly support contactless payments for millions of businesses. This allows almost all iPhones in the country to be used as payment terminals without additional hardware, reducing the cost of responding to electronic payments by Japanese businesses, making it easy and secure for customers, and protecting their privacy. It will be possible to provide a contactless payment experience."

GMO Financial Gate's stera tap app, Recruit's Air Pay Touch app, and Square's Square POS register app will be the first payment platforms in Japan to offer touch payment with iPhone to businesses, according to Apple. Additionally, Adyen will support it in the coming months, and it will also be available at Apple Stores in Japan. iPhone's touch payment supports contactless credit and debit cards from the four major payment networks: American Express, JCB, Mastercard, and Visa.

Tap to Pay on ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ requires ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ XS or newer models, and works for customers as any normal ‌‌‌‌‌Apple Pay‌‌‌‌‌ transaction would. Sellers just need to open up the app, register the sale, and present their ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ to the buyer, who can then use an appropriate contactless payment method.

Japan becomes the ninth region to support Tap to Pay, following similar rollouts in the U.K., Australia, Taiwan, Brazil, Ukraine, France, and the Netherlands last year.