Apple’s launch of tap-to-pay on iPhones in Singapore highlights a broader shift toward software-led payment acceptance, with implications for merchants, acquirers and the wider payments ecosystem.
Apple has enabled tap-to-pay on iPhones in Singapore, allowing merchants to accept contactless payments without dedicated point-of-sale (POS) hardware. The service is available through established payment partners including Adyen, Fiuu, HitPay, Revolut, Stripe and Zoho.
The development signals a transition in payment acceptance in which innovation is driven less by hardware-led infrastructure and more by software-based models. This shift has implications for acquiring banks, payment service providers and merchants across the payments value chain.
Payment service providers in Singapore are rapidly enabling tap-to-pay for retail and small and medium-sized enterprises. Device-based acceptance reduces reliance on traditional POS hardware, while acquirer risk, onboarding and monitoring frameworks must adapt to software-led acceptance.
Tap-to-pay moves from feature to acceptance model
Compatible iPhones can function as full-fledged payment acceptance devices, enabling merchants to receive contactless payments by presenting the phone to a customer’s card or mobile wallet.
For merchants who are already using smartphones to manage their inventory, orders or deliveries, the acceptance process becomes just another operational tool that they are already using rather than a separate system. This reduces setup time and dependence on rented terminals or third-party card readers.
Regulation and market maturity support adoption
Singapore’s broader payments environment supports this transition. The country is a regional leader in digital payments and ranks among the world’s most advanced markets for contactless transactions. Regulatory initiatives have consistently favoured low-cost and interoperable acceptance models.
Government efforts to improve access for micro-businesses and mobile merchants align with software-based acceptance, lowering entry barriers for those operating in mobile or informal retail settings.
Implications for acquirers and merchants
Hardware acquisition is no longer the focus of a change in acceptance strategy, rather it is software deployment that comes to the forefront. Historically, small and medium- sized merchants have relied on physical terminals, dongles and mobile readers. While effective, these introduced recurring rental costs, maintenance requirements and replacement cycles.
Device-based acceptance can help address these challenges by reducing hardware costs, speeding up onboarding, allowing staff rather than fixed devices to scale acceptance, and supporting mobile, pop-up and temporary retail formats.
Acceptance is a process that can now be carried out anywhere, it is more flexible, and it is also easier to span different merchant environments.
Payment acceptance evolves from fixed hardware terminals to flexible, software- based models
Source: BankQuality
Changes in the electronic payments ecosystem present opportunities for acquirers and payment service providers to rethink business models and offerings.
The transition is not without challenges, but those who recognise and act on the possibilities will be in an advantageous position. For acquirers, tap-to-pay requires more than technical enablement.
Acceptance on consumer-grade devices requires adjustments such as:
Economics also evolve. Hardware rental has historically provided predictable revenue. As acceptance becomes software-led, acquirers must differentiate through settlement options, reconciliation tools, fraud-screening capabilities and integration with accounting or CRM platforms.
Providers that treat tap-to-pay as a standalone feature risk commoditisation. Those who integrate acceptance deeply into merchant workflows have a better chance of staying relevant.
Merchant adoption considerations
Merchants benefit from:
Employees can process transactions anywhere in the establishment, improving customer flow during peak hours. Home-based sellers, pop-up operators, and service providers gain practical flexibility.
Adoption is not uniform; high-volume merchants may continue using conventional terminals for tasks like printing receipts.
Customer experience remains seamless
For customers, payments proceed as usual, following standard contactless flows. Authentication and tokenisation occur within Apple’s secure architecture and the PSP’s backend, keeping complexity behind the scenes while merchants gain flexibility.
Software-based payment acceptance requires stronger operational controls and risk management frameworks
Figure 2. Evolving approaches to payment acceptance
Source: BankQuality