Apple says app developers can offer NFC contactless transactions using the iPhone's Secure Element, separate from Apple Pay and Wallet, starting with iOS 18.1
Apple has announced that it is opening up the iPhone's NFC chip using the Secure Element to allow for third-party contactless payments …
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had previously expanded NFC capabilities beyond payments, including access for transit, doors and other contactless interactions, while Tap to Pay on iPhone let merchants accept contactless payments through partner-enabled apps. This announcement goes further by making the Secure Element available for developers' own contactless transaction experiences outside Apple Pay and Wallet.
The move turns a historically Apple-controlled iPhone hardware-and-security layer into a developer platform, albeit one Apple says carries associated fees. That makes the terms of access as consequential as the technical opening.
First-order effects
- Developers can build contactless transaction flows that use the iPhone Secure Element without routing the experience through Apple Pay or Wallet once iOS 18.1 is available.
- Apple retains control over the access program and its associated fees, while Apple Pay and Wallet lose exclusivity over this particular NFC transaction capability.
Second-order effects
- Wallet, payment, transit and access-control providers gain a route to offer more differentiated iPhone experiences, increasing pressure on Apple Pay and Wallet to compete on product integration rather than exclusive hardware access.
- Developers must weigh the new capability against Apple's access terms and fees; that trade-off will shape which contactless use cases move from dedicated cards or apps onto the iPhone.
Third-order effects
- If access is broadly adopted, the iPhone's Secure Element can evolve from a proprietary wallet advantage into shared security infrastructure, with Apple acting more as the platform gatekeeper than the sole transaction interface.
- The opening reinforces a wider shift toward wallets as a permission layer: control may increasingly reside in device-security rules, APIs and commercial terms rather than in ownership of the consumer-facing wallet alone.
The trend: This is one data point in the unbundling of mobile-wallet functionality, as platform owners expose secure device capabilities while retaining governance over access.