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Starting with iOS 18.1, iOS developers will be able to offer near-field communication (NFC) contactless transactions using the secure element (SE) from within their own apps on iPhones, separate from Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. Using the new NFC and SE, application programming interfaces (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, with government IDs to be supported in the future. The only catch is that developers will need to enter into a commercial agreement with Apple, request the NFC and SE entitlement, and pay the associated fees. This follows a commitment made by Apple to the European Commission in July 2024 to grant European iOS developers similar NFC and SE access to address antitrust charges. Even the new commitment is not fully global in scope. The NFC and SE APIs will only be available to developers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, although additional locations are said to follow.

"This document presents potential technologies for implementing security requirements of services that use Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. Depending on application design and its security requirements there are three possible alternatives for storing sensitive data and application code within NFC enabled mobile phone: secure element (SE), Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and device's operating system memory - using Host Card Emulation (HCE) service. Paper provides comparative analysis of mentioned alternatives in terms of technical issues as well as business ones."

The Central Bank of Nigeria will reportedly be piloting the use of near field communication (NFC) stickers that bring enhanced functionality to eNaira featurephone apps. Users will be able to stick them to any phone so they can conveniently make payments to merchants.

The Bank of China has partnered with China Telecom and China Unicom to test SIM card near-field communication (NFC) payments for the e-CNY on specific Android smartphones in certain regions. The SIM card hardware wallet shares its balance with the main wallet, eliminating the need for separate top-ups. In order to make payments, users are only required to move their mobile phones close to point of sales terminals, even with a switched-off smartphone. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Il2p2rKE116xMh97Ml0wQg

The European Central Bank (ECB) is opposed to Apple's proposed changes to the iPhone's near-field communication (NFC) at the core of Apple Pay. The ECB argues that by not providing third parties with full access to the secure element (SE) of its NFC technology, Apple Pay maintains an unfair advantage against third-party payment apps on iPhones. Because of these limitations, contactless payments made through third-party apps on iPhone would be less user-friendly and ultimately be slower than Apple's offering. Also, iPhones would be incompatible with the digital euro, because the current enabling legislation requires the ability to do peer-to-peer (P2P) and offline payments, the latter which requires access to the SE.

Roberto Garavaglia has explored the implications of the Apple iOS 18.1 update's opening of access to iPhone secure elements to developers to allow them to offer contactless near field communication (NFC) transactions directly within their apps, outside of the Apple Pay and Apple wallet ecosystem. This will open the use of Apple devices not only for payments, but also for digital access and identification. Developers will be able to integrate a wide range of services, from in-store payments to digital keys for cars, company badges, loyalty cards and government documents. However, challenges remain with regard to Apple's control and compliance with European standards.

Apple could be forced to allow third-party payment apps to access the NFC chip in the iPhone and Apple Watch without having to use Apple Pay. The European Union is purportedly considering new antitrust legislation in response to complaints by banks that Apple's restrictions on access to the chip are anticompetitive. The report is set to be unveiled next week by the European Commission as part of a package of policy proposals. Germany has already passed a law which would require this.

The European Commission is opening an antitrust investigations into Apple's Apple Pay practices to assess whether Ait violates EU competition rules. Apple has limited access to the Near Field Communication (NFC) functionality of its iPhone and Apple Watch devices, a move that means banks and other financial service providers can't offer NFC payments through their own apps. It also reserves the 'tap and go' functionality of iPhones to Apple Pay.

Japanese card payments network JCB, identity firm IDEMIA and Malaysia's Soft Space are exploring offline digital currency functionality. A first phase of the project demonstrated connectivity between existing card and payment infrastructures, and a potential [central bank?] digital currency, showing that current point of sale solutions don't need adaptation. The new phase will test using mobile wallets to transfer digital currency between them without an internet connection using near field communications (NFC). Another scenario will test the offline use of stored value payment cards that transfer digital currency via mobile phones using NFC to transfer funds. https://www.idemia.com/press-release/jcb-idemia-and-soft-space-launch-jcbdc-phase-2-pilot-trial-cbdc-offline-p2p-payments-2023-12-13

The European Commission has made commitments offered by Apple legally binding under EU antitrust rules. The commitments address the Commission's competition concerns relating to Apple's refusal to grant rivals access to a standard technology used for contactless payments with iPhones in stores ('Near-Field-Communication (NFC)' or 'tap and go').

"DIMPLE.IO® is a small NFC™ sticker with buttons for Android™ ⁻¹ devices since 2013. You are the one who chooses the button functionality. It makes doing everyday tasks quicker and saves your precious time. Works on a protective case!"

Mexican central bank's real-time payment system CoDi (Cobro Digital, Digital Charge) went live on September 30. Use of the payment system, which uses QR codes or NFC, requires a smartphone and an account at a financial institution.

The Mexican Central Bank, along with the Mexican Bankers Association (ABM) and the Mexican Association of Popular Financial Societies (AMSOFIPO) launched the digital payment platform Cobro Digital or CoDi (Digital Purchase), based on QR codes and near-field communication (NFC) technology used in mobile phones.

Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) subsidiary Saudi Payments highlighted the importance of electronic payment platforms and their increasing usage popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic. SAMA had tripled the limit of purchases through bankcards that use NFC technology on point-of-sale devices, in order to avoid contact with contaminated surfaces. As a result, during the first quarter of 2020, there were large increases in online purchases and purchases via POS devices.

Apple has acquired Mobeewave, a startup with technology that could transform iPhones into mobile payment terminals. Mobeewave's technology lets shoppers tap their credit card or smartphone on another phone to process a payment. The system works with an app and doesn't require hardware beyond a Near Field Communications, or NFC, chip, which iPhones have included since 2014. Samsung Electronics Co. partnered with Mobeewave last year to allow its phones to use the technology.

The Stellar Signer Card uses multisignature technology to maximize the security of digital assets issued on the Stellar network. It connects to smartphones with near-field communication (NFC) technology which provides an instant connection. In the LOBSTR Vault app the user chooses any transaction and holds the card under the smartphone. A signed transaction will then be sent to the Stellar network automatically.

Visa published a technical paper that outlines an approach for offline point-to-point payments between two devices. The protocol allows digital money to be directly downloaded onto a personal device, such as a smartphone or tablet. The money is stored on a secure hardware embedded in that device and managed by a wallet provider (e.g. a bank). CBDC can be transacted from one device to another device directly without any intermediaries such as banks, payment networks, or payment processors. Examples of the underlying technology that can support point-to-point payments include Bluetooth and Near Field Communication (NFC).

An innovative digital payment solution, PaySe is a financial inclusion enabler created to address the key challenges faced by banks and other financial institutions to make banking services accessible even in the remotest geographies across India. As the world's first offline solution, PaySe can be used to accept and make payments even when completely offline. It does this by using a secured smart card and an NFC enabled device. PaySe also provides financial institutions with the capability to acquire customers efficiently by capturing customer data, verifying documents, conducting KYC / AML checks and creating customer accounts. For us PaySe is more than just a business - we see it as something we should do for the society.

The Bank of Lithuania is inviting payment market participants and technology vendors to develop a QR code-based payment solution that enables instant settlements in digital euro at points of sale. The solution should be based on an app running on mobile devices, but connectivity based on short-range wireless technologies (e.g., NFC or Bluetooth) so transactions can be done offline.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) provided updates on its central bank digital currency (CBDC) proof-of-concept work in its 2022 Payment and Settlement Systems Report. This included investigating smart contracts, near-field communications (NFC) based offline payments and cross-border payments. Also, the BOK connected 14 banks with its simulated CBDC system to verify its functioning. It handled 2,000 transactions per second but slowed down as it reached capacity, so further improvements are needed. The bank also tested a zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) protocol to improve privacy, but it slowed the processing speed markedly. https://www.bok.or.kr/eng/bbs/B0000179/view.do?nttId=10078478&menuNo=400063