Apple unveils Tap to Pay for contactless shopping with iPhones
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveiled a new feature on Tuesday, known as Tap to Pay on iPhone, that will let small businesses take credit card payments directly from their iPhone, without the need for additional hardware.
The new feature will let businesses "seamlessly and securely" take Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards and other digital wallets via a tap on their iPhone, putting them in direct competition with Block (NYSE:SQ) and other financial technology companies.
âAs more consumers are tapping to pay with digital wallets and credit cards, Tap to Pay on iPhone will provide businesses with a secure, private, and easy way to accept contactless payments and unlock new checkout experiences using the power, security and convenience of iPhone,â said Jennifer Bailey, Appleâs vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet in a statement. 
The announcement comes just days after it was reported that Apple was planning to unveil a new service that would let small businesses take payments directly via their iPhones.
The new feature likely uses technology from Apple's acquisition of Mobeewave, a Canadian financial technology company that developed the technology to let smartphone users take credit card payments by tapping the card against the phone. 
Stripe will be the first payment platform to offer the service, including Shopify's (NYSE:SHOP) Point of Sale app this spring, with additional platforms and apps to come later this year.
Tap to Pay on iPhone, which will be available "later this year," lets merchants download an iOS app on an iPhone XS or later and uses NFC technology to take the payments.
Apple (AAPL) shares were slightly higher on Tuesday, gaining more than 0.3% to $172.21, while Block fell almost 1% to $101.93. 
Other companies that may also be affected by the announcement include PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), Verifone (NYSE:PAY) and Ingenico.
Tap to Pay on iPhone will work with credit and debit cards from payment networks such as American Express (NYSE:AXP), Discover (NYSE:DFS), Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and Visa (NYSE:V).
Separately on Tuesday, it was reported that Apple had purchased an artificial intelligence startup known as AI Music to help generate customized music.