Apple will introduce its Tap to Pay feature for iPhones later this year, which will allow businesses to use mobile devices as a terminal for contactless payments.
The move is aimed at small businesses.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in a tweet on Wednesday that Tap to Pay is "a great way for millions of small businesses to accept contactless payments right from their iPhone".
"It’s easy, secure and will be coming out later this year," Mr Cook said.
The feature, which will initially be available in the US, will also work with contactless cards and digital wallets, and requires no additional hardware, Apple said in a newsroom post.
It did not, however, say when the new service will be available outside the US.
Tap to Pay will be first offered by Stripe, the San Francisco-based financial services provider, and will also be integrated into Shopify's PoS app soon. More platforms and apps are set to follow later this year, Apple added.
“In collaboration with payment platforms, app developers and payment networks, we’re making it easier than ever for businesses of all sizes – from solopreneurs to large retailers – to seamlessly accept contactless payments and continue to grow their business," Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said in the post.
Tap to Pay will work on the iPhone XS and later models, and will also be accessible with an Apple Watch. Transactions will be "securely completed" using near-field communication technology, the company said.
Apple's announcement comes at a time when businesses and consumers alike are becoming more accustomed to using contactless methods to conduct transactions, owing to the convenience and increased security they bring.
The global contactless payment market is expected to hit more than $12.6 trillion by 2030, growing by 24.2 per cent annually from 2020 to 2030, figures compiled by Research and Markets show.
About 60 per cent of small businesses globally are already – or planning to go – cashless by 2024, or have already done so, with three quarters saying that accepting new forms of payment is critical to business growth, a January study by Visa found.
The contactless payment and small businesses sectors are both being driven by improved support, technological advancements in digital platforms and mobile devices, as well the fall-out from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has significantly altered consumers' shopping and spending habits.
There are an estimated 32.5 million small businesses in the US, accounting for nearly all – 99.9 per cent – of businesses in the world's largest economy, according to the Small Business Administration, a US government agency. Before the pandemic, the sector created 1.5 million jobs annually and accounted for around 64 per cent of new jobs created in the US, it added.
We’re making it easier than ever for businesses of all sizes – from solopreneurs to large retailers – to seamlessly accept contactless payments and continue to grow their business
Jennifer Bailey,
vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet
The introduction of Tap to Pay further strengthens Apple's financial services offerings, joining its flagship cashless service Apple Pay, its peer-to-peer service Apple Pay Cash and the Goldman Sachs-backed Apple Card.
Apple said that, as with its other financial services, customers' payment data on Tap to Pay is protected, with all transactions encrypted. With Apple Pay, the company doesn’t know what is being purchased or who is buying it.
These financial features are part of Apple's services portfolio, which reaped $19.5 billion in revenue in its fiscal 2022 first quarter, up almost a quarter on an annual basis.
Cupertino-based Apple posted record quarterly sales and net profit during the three-month period despite supply chain challenges, with profit increasing more than 20 per cent to about $35bn from the same period in the previous year and revenue rising 11.2 per cent a year to more than $123.9bn.
Apple, the world's most valuable company, is also expected to launch a new low-cost iPhone and an updated iPad on March 8, Bloomberg reported last week, citing sources.
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
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McIlroy's struggles in 2016/17
European Tour: 6 events, 16 rounds, 5 cuts, 0 wins, 3 top-10s, 4 top-25s, 72,5567 points, ranked 16th
PGA Tour: 8 events, 26 rounds, 6 cuts, 0 wins, 4 top-10s, 5 top-25s, 526 points, ranked 71st
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Grand Slam Los Angeles results
Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos
Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
The Bio
Amal likes watching Japanese animation movies and Manga - her favourite is The Ancient Magus Bride
She is the eldest of 11 children, and has four brothers and six sisters.
Her dream is to meet with all of her friends online from around the world who supported her work throughout the years
Her favourite meal is pizza and stuffed vine leaves
She ams to improve her English and learn Japanese, which many animated programmes originate in
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
