Most modern iPhones support Tap to Pay (Apple Pay), with compatibility starting from iPhone XS and newer for accepting payments (Tap to Pay on iPhone) and even older models like the iPhone 6 and newer for making payments, as long as they run the latest iOS and have a supported payment app like Square or Stripe. To use it, you need an iPhone with Face ID or Touch ID, iOS 15.5/16.0+, and a compatible payment app.
Tap to Pay
The service is compatible with iPhone 6 and newer, iPad Air 2 and newer, Macs with Touch ID, and Apple Watch Series 1 and later.
To make an in-store purchase with your iPhone X , iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus iPhone® 7, iPhone® 7 Plus, iPhone® 6, iPhone® 6S, iPhone® 6 Plus, or iPhone® 6S Plus, just hold your device near the contactless reader with your finger while holding down Touch ID™.
The iPhone 7 can read all standard NFC chips including the popular NTAG series and iCode SLIX tags. As with Android, Seritag recommended avoiding the larger memory NTAG216 chips. The iPhone 7 has a relatively small and focused NFC antenna.
The iPhone Xs, Xs Max, Xr, 11, 11 Pro, 12 and 12 Pro have NFC for payments and can read NFC tags with or without an additional App. In addition, these iPhones can encode NFC tags when running iOS 13 or iOS 14 software.
Your device is supported: Tap to Pay works with iPhone models from 2018 or later, starting with iPhone XS, running iOS 16.7 or later. Your device software is up-to-date: To update to the latest version, go to Settings > General > Software Update. Then tap Download & Install.
Tap-to-pay technology is more reliable and secure than other forms of payment. The chip technology protects you against any fraudulent purchases through encryption and dynamic data technologies.
You can use Back Tap shortcuts on most new iPhone models, including all iPhone 8, iPhone X, and iPhone 11 models.
NFC (Near Field Communication) is the technology that allows the card to be tapped onto a device. iPhone's NFC reader is at the top back and front of the phone. Around the earpiece. For iPhones older than Xs, click the NFC icon in the control centre to tap the card on the device or use the QR code instead.
Did you know you can make contactless payments for fuel at Exxon™ and Mobil™ stations? You can use the Exxon Mobil Rewards+™ app, or tap to pay with your smart phone.
Most modern smartphones, including iPhone (iPhone 6 and later) and many Android devices (Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, newer OnePlus, etc.), support tap-to-pay via NFC, using digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Wallet, or Samsung Pay for contactless payments, with specific model compatibility depending on the app and carrier. The key is an NFC chip and a compatible digital wallet app for seamless, card-free transactions.
NFC functionality on iPhones was first introduced with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, back in 2014.
So, overall, the oldest “usable” phone for daily use is probably the iPhone 6S, which seems to still get security support from Apple – but there's no predicting whether this will last much longer.
Easy to set up.
To set up Tap to Pay on iPhone, enable it in the payment app of your choice. To accept a payment, open the app, enter the amount, and present your iPhone to your customer. To pay, the customer holds their card horizontally or places their device directly over the payment symbol.
Since the iPhone 6, all Apple devices have been NFC-enabled. Most Android devices also feature NFC functionality.