Apple has announced the extension of its merchant payment acceptance service to nine additional European nations: Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
This service, which enables businesses to accept contactless payments directly on an iPhone without additional hardware, is sometimes misunderstood due to its name. Rather than being a consumer payment method, it's a tool that transforms iPhones into payment terminals for merchants.
Business owners in these newly added countries can now process contactless payments using iPhone XS models or newer running the latest iOS. The service accepts payments from various sources including:
- Major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express)
- Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Wallet
- NFC-enabled smartphones and smartwatches
Apple emphasizes the security of this payment solution, noting that customer transaction data receives the same protection technology that safeguards Apple Pay. All payments are encrypted and processed within the iPhone's Secure Element, ensuring Apple cannot access purchase details or customer identities.
This expansion represents a significant advancement for small businesses and mobile merchants in these European markets, offering them a simplified payment acceptance solution without specialized equipment.
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