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Comment on Apple Pay will support NFC tags

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This is essentially just a fancy QR code.

The tag contains the data who the payment is for and how much the payment is. You could do the exact same thing with QR, but with more fussing and aiming and worrying about the amount of light and whether the image is dirty or not.

This is essentially just a fancy QR code.

But with much better UX and Security. QR Code does have its uses, but for many things it is the wrong solution.

Security

?

QR code requires at least one more step which is using the camera. Hopefully this will be just a single tap and confirm.

It’s not, you have to double tap the power button to invoke Apple Pay.

Apple Pay is invoked automatically whenever the phone is near a point of sale.

And since the nfc tags will have a predetermined, set payment amount associated with them, even biometrics shouldn’t be necessary.

Apple Pay is invoked automatically whenever the phone is near a point of sale.

That only works with active NFC readers though. Presumably these tags are passive and aren't emitting a signal that would wake up the iPhone

I think the key is proximity, I believe. Like with a QR code, you could hypothetically take a picture of it and have that QR code be used anywhere. With this, you have to actually be in proximity to use it, I believe, which adds value in some contexts.

Is it not possible to clone NFC tags?

There's likely a secure element in these NFC devices, more sophisticated than the common NFC tags. My guess is something similar to the chips in bank cards.

Why not both? It could be awesome from micropayments on a browser

Apple Pay on the web already exists. And it’s already fantastic.

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