Apple is planning to roll out a new service that will let businesses accept card payments on their iPhones, without the need for any additional hardware.
Bloomberg reports the feature has been in the works for two years, bolstered by the company’s A$140 million purchase of Mobeewave that developed the software that allows iPhones to accept payments.
The system will use the iPhone’s near field communications chip, which is also used for Apple Pay.
This is obviously a big worry for Jack Dorsey’s Square, the market leader for tap-and-go payments. Although the technology allows for any app, including Square’s, to use the technology, it’s a safe bet Apple will direct these payments through its own software.
Shares of Block fell 3.4 per cent upon the release of this news, while Apple’s rose 2.1 per cent.