Apple has announced that iPhones will soon support third-party payment services like Samsung Pay and Google Pay. However, this technology has not yet been officially launched in South Korea, so it remains to be seen if the service will expand there soon.
According to industry sources on the 16th, Apple will open the NFC (Near Field Communication) payment service API (Application Programming Interface) to external app developers starting with iOS 18.1. This NFC API will initially be available to developers in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, with plans to add more countries in the future.
However, Apple plans to charge external developers a fee for using its NFC API and will require related contracts. While the exact fee structure has not been disclosed, there is a possibility that Apple may demand higher fees than those for Apple Pay to deter competitors.
Although Apple has not officially commented, it is believed that the decision to open up its payment service technology is due to increasing regulatory pressure. Last month, Apple announced that it would open its Tap and Go technology to third-party apps in response to antitrust regulations from the EU. It is known that the NFC API will be completely free in the 27 EU countries as per the agreement between the European Commission and Apple.
Meanwhile, iOS 18 is expected to be released in September along with the iPhone 16 series. Since iOS 18.1, which will open up the payment service, is an additional update version, it is expected to be applied in the fourth quarter of this year. Consequently, the actual application of third-party payment apps on iPhones is anticipated to occur no earlier than the end of this year.
ONLINE-KOREA
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