In a major development for the payment industry, Circle’s CEO, Jeremy Allaire, has announced that the company is preparing to implement ‘tap-and-go’ payments with USDC on iPhones. This announcement follows Apple’s recent decision to provide third-party developers access to its NFC chip and Secure Element technology starting with iOS 18.1. This new capability allows developers to integrate NFC contactless transactions into their apps, bypassing Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.
Allaire emphasized that this advancement could transform payment systems by enabling point-of-sale systems to interact directly with iPhone wallets for blockchain-based transactions. This integration will support seamless USDC payments authenticated through biometric features such as FaceID, making transactions more user-friendly and secure.
In addition to USDC, Allaire envisions that this NFC access could spur innovation, allowing developers to explore new applications for iPhones. Potential uses include managing NFTs for ticketing and handling other crypto stablecoins like EURC. However, the initial rollout of this technology is limited to select countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the US, and the UK, with the European Union not included in the initial phase.
USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, boasts a $34.5 billion market cap, significantly smaller than Tether’s USDT, which stands at approximately $116.4 billion. Despite this gap, USDC has made notable progress, especially in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, supporting 77 chains compared to USDT’s 76.
This new payment capability underscores the growing integration of blockchain technology into mainstream financial systems and highlights Circle’s commitment to advancing the use of digital currencies in everyday transactions.
August 2024, Cryptoniteuae