Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone softPOS technology is now live in Germany, Apple has announced, enabling merchants across the country to accept contactless payments on their mobile phone with no additional hardware required.

“Stores can now seamlessly and securely accept payments with contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and other digital wallets — just with an iPhone and an iOS app supported by the payment partner,” Apple says.

“Adyen, Commerz Globalpay, myPOS, Nexi, SumUp and Viva are the first payment platforms in Germany to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone. Mollie, Payone, Revolut, the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe and Stripe will introduce Tap to Pay on iPhone later this year.

“Starting today, Tap to Pay on iPhone is available in all Apple Stores in Germany, and is rolling out to retailers such as Dyson, Ganni and Rituals. Gastronovi is making Tap to Pay on iPhone available in its POS systems, which are used by thousands of restaurants across the country.”

“Privacy and security are fundamental to the development of all Apple payment features,” the iPhone maker adds. “With Tap to Pay on iPhone, customers’ payment data is protected by the same technology that makes Apple Pay secure.

“All transactions made with Tap to Pay on iPhone are encrypted and processed in the Secure Element, and as with Apple Pay, Apple has no knowledge of what is being purchased or who is buying it.”

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