Circle CEO says USDC contactless payments on iPhone to be launched soon

What’s new? Circle, a USDC stablecoin company, plans to introduce contactless payments on iPhone devices. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said that the ability to pay USDC in offline stores will be available soon, and urged wallet developers to prepare for the innovation.

Source: X.com

What else is known? This is how Allaire commented on the news that Apple will open up the use of its NFC chip to third-party developers, allowing banks and other services to bring their own payment solutions other than Apple Pay to devices. Crypto startups will also be able to integrate blockchain payment features into Apple devices.

While Apple hasn't done so yet, the only payment app or wallet that could utilize NFC on the iPhone are Apple Wallet and Apple Pay.

Allaire emphasized that this decision is not a result of Apple and Circle's interaction, and the companies are not related in any way.

Source: X.com

It followed years of pressure from regulators, including in the European Union. Previously, Apple was reluctant to open access to the system, citing security concerns. In addition, the initiative could entail a decline in transaction revenues on Apple Pay.

At the same time, third-party companies will now be obliged to pay fees for the use of the NFC chip as part of a commercial agreement. Apple said the agreement ensures that only responsible developers who meet industry standards and regulatory requirements, as well as comply with the corporation's internal standards for security and privacy, will have access to the system.

Third-party developers will have access starting with the upcoming iOS 18.1 software update, and the program will be rolled out in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the US and the UK. Notably, there is no mention of the EU, which has been pushing the changes the most recently.

According to Allaire, external Web 3.0 and cryptocurrency wallets will now be able to use the NFC chip for transactions. As such, he urged developers to start using the latest versions of Apple's iOS SDK (software development kit) and prepare for the introduction of contactless payments to the USDC.

Circle CEO has expressed concern over the new crypto regulation law in the EU

According to Jeremy Allaire, the requirement to keep reserves in banks is a threat

Read more

USDC is the sixth overall ranked cryptocurrency by market capitalization with over $34,48 billion. It is also the second largest USD-linked stablecoin, behind only Tether's USDT. Its capitalization is up 5% since the beginning of the month and 40% year-to-date.