Apple has officially broadened the availability of its innovative Tap to Pay feature, launching it in nine more countries across Europe. The new nations to benefit from this service are Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
Contrary to what the name may suggest, Tap to Pay does not enable users to make purchases directly with their iPhones. Instead, this service empowers businesses to process contactless payments using their iPhone, eliminating the need for extra hardware or payment terminals. While the concept is highly advantageous for merchants, the name could be less misleading.
For businesses located in the newly added countries, accepting payments is now easier than ever. If you own an iPhone XS or later running the most recent version of iOS, you can seamlessly accept contactless payments from debit or credit cards (including Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express), as well as through Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and other compatible digital wallets from smartphones or smartwatches.
Apple underscores that customer payment information is safeguarded by the same technology that ensures Apple Pay’s privacy and security. All transactions are encrypted and processed via the iPhone's Secure Element, meaning Apple does not track or store purchase details or customer identities.
Source (in Finnish)
