iPhones could soon accept contactless payments directly

According to a new report from Bloomberg, iPhones may soon be able to accept payments directly using contactless technologies without the need for an accompanying point of sale or payment terminal.

The feature, which could simply arrive by means of a software update without the need for a new hardware launch, may arrive within the next few months according to the report.

The news is apparently borne of Apple’s 2020 acquisition of Mobeewave, which enables smartphones to accept payments through the use of an NFC tag.

It’s yet unclear as to whether the feature will mark an expansion of Apple Pay – which in some territories enables users to wire money to and from different accounts – or could launch alongside another payments processor.

Apple may reserve a more formal announcement to inaugurate the feature later this year – the company is already tipped to unveil new hardware lines this March,