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Block Inc. Tuesday announced businesses using Block’s Cash App iOS app can process contactless payments directly on an iPhone using Apple Inc.’s tap-to-pay on iPhone technology. The new service comes as early testing indicates sellers using the technology have seen a 35% rise in purchase volume by comparison to merchants not using the service, according to Block, which says more than a million merchants are eligible to use the technology.
The technology, which can enable contactless acceptance directly on an iPhone whether the customer has Cash App or not, also represents a closer partnership between Cash App and Square, Block’s two business units, Block says. Apple Inc. introduced tap-to-pay capability for its iPhone in early 2022 as a means by which mid-size and smaller merchants can accept card transactions without the need for any other hardware. The latest development from Block can be tapped “within minutes” through the Cash App iOS app on the iPhone XS or later versions, the company says.
Tap-to-pay on iPhone has become a top request from merchants using Cash App Business, Block says. The company cites a beta test in which sellers using the technology saw a 35% rise in payments volume when compared to “similar” merchants that weren’t using the technology.
San Francisco-based Block also sees the technology expanding the reach of Cash App to more merchants. “Tap to Pay on iPhone opens up sellers to businesses outside the Cash App community, to the growing share of customers who use contactless debit or credit card, or a mobile wallet,” saidOwen Jennings, head of business at Block, in a statement. “It’s a powerful way to ensure micro and nano sellers never miss a sale. We’re meeting them where they are – distributing Square’s … tools to a new generation of smaller, next-gen sellers, natively within Cash App.” Block does not release the number of businesses using Cash App.
With tap to pay on iPhone, customers hold their iPhone, Apple Watch, or contactless card near a merchant’s iPhone to complete a transaction. Since the technology’s launch, other technology companies have developed variations on the concept. In May, for example, Samsung Electronics America started rolling out tap to transfer, which allows users of the company’s digital wallets to send money to one another by tapping their phones.
