One of the biggest points of contention between EU regulatory bodies and Apple has been the company’s restricted use of NFC in iPhones for payments, keys, and other functions that Apple requires going through Apple Pay or the Wallet app.
Well, it seems like we’ll have more to look forward to with iOS 18.1 than Apple Intelligence, as Apple has announced it will begin allowing developers to use NFC and the Secure Element chip in iPhones for these functions beginning with that release. The changes are global, and use of these features requires developers to “enter into a commercial arrangement with Apple, request the NFC and SE entitlement, and pay the associated fees.”
Apple says developers will be able to use in-app contactless transactions for “in-app contactless transactions for in-store payments, car keys, closed-loop transit, corporate badges, student IDs, home keys, hotel keys, merchant loyalty and rewards cards, and event tickets.” Support for contactless transactions for government IDs is coming in a later update.
Users will be able to make contactless transactions within apps and will be able to set an app as the default in Settings, so it opens when you double-click the side button (this currently opens the iOS Wallet app to the default card).
This change will be available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. in an upcoming developer beta of iOS 18.1, and will become available to users (after apps are approved) when iOS 18.1 is released this fall.