France-based merchants can now accept in-person and contactless payments via Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone.
It becomes the eight region to adopt the service following the initial launch in the U.S last year. Further rollouts, in 2023, have included the UK, Australia, Taiwan, Brazil, Ukraine and the Netherlands.
The feature enables businesses to seamlessly accept payments from contactless bank cards via Apple Pay and other wallets digital using only their iPhone and a partner’s iOS app. No additional hardware or payment terminal is required.
The Tap to Pay service on iPhone has been made available to payment platforms and app developers in France, who can integrate it into their iOS apps and offer it as a payment acceptance option to merchants. Adyen, myPOS, Revolut, SumUp, Viva Wallet and Worldline can all now offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to their French customers as well as the BPCE Group, Apple said. They will soon be joined by BNP Paribas, Crédit Coopératif, Market Pay, Stancer and Stripe.
“We are very excited to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to merchants across France, so that they have a simple, secure and confidential way to accept contactless payments while benefiting from the power, security and usability of iPhone,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.
She added: “With more than 90% of bank cards in France equipped with contactless technology, and the growing adoption of contactless payments, merchants will be able to accept payments from their customers with a simple tap on their iPhone.”
Merchants can enable the contactless payment acceptance service through a supported iOS app on an iPhone XS (or later) running the latest version of iOS. Tap to Pay on iPhone will be compatible with contactless bank cards from major payment networks, including American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa. Apple said it is also working with payment platforms to enable support, in the coming weeks, for CB (Cartes Bancaires), the most used payment scheme on the French market.
Yves Tyrode, General Manager Digital & Payments of Groupe BPCE said: “Support for this service demonstrates our desire to integrate value-creating technological developments, and perfectly complements the offering of in-store and online payment solutions offered to merchant customers of Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Saving.”
Virginie Melaine-Christensen, Managing Director of Adyen France added: “Tap to Pay on iPhone has revolutionized the way consumers and businesses view mobile payments in the US, UK and Netherlands.
“In addition, we saw how Tap to Pay on iPhone allows merchants to accept payments anywhere, without the need for additional hardware. We are very proud to introduce this revolutionary feature to France through French fashion brand Sézane.”
