Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire predicted that tap-to-pay payments on iPhone using Circle's USDC stablecoin are "incoming soon," following Apple's decision to open up the iPhone's NFC payment functionality to third-party developers.

In a tweet, Allaire advised wallet developers to “start your engines.”

Allaire clarified in a follow-up tweet that Circle “has no relationship with Apple and this has nothing to do with Apple Pay,” explaining that Apple’s move to open up NFC will enable Web3 and crypto wallets to “invoke NFC for transactions.”

That, in turn, means that an iOS wallet supporting USDC could “enable a UX where a receiving device (like a Point-of-Sale, or another iOS device) could receive the transaction info via a tap,” with the iPhone-based wallet app confirming a payment using its FaceID system and initiating a blockchain transaction to settle the USDC payment.

Allaire added that, “this will open up a powerful pathway for direct to merchant USDC payments,” as well as “NFTs for tickets, other certificates, other stablecoins like EURC, etc.”

“Wallet developers should start using the latest Apple iOS SDKs that support this and ready their apps for USDC Tap to Pay,” while PoS hardware firms and payment processors should “upgrade to support native USDC settlement,” he concluded.

Apple opens up NFC payments

Apple’s decision to open up access to its NFC chip comes after years of pressure to do so from regulators, including the European Union, who called for Apple to allow increased market competition.

Apple had resisted this pressure up until now, citing potential privacy issues. Until Apple’s recent move, the only payment apps or wallets that could use NFC on iPhones were Apple Wallet and Apple Pay.

Third-party developers will have access to the iPhone NFC chip following the iOS 18.1 software update, currently pegged for this fall.

However, Apple widening access to its NFC technology comes with a great many caveats for third parties who want to participate.

Developers will need to enter into a commercial agreement with Apple and pay the associated fees, which have not been publicly disclosed.

Apple also says it will only work with authorized developers who “meet certain industry and regulatory requirements”, and commit to its security and privacy standards.

The new third-party integrations will also only be available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S.—at least initially.

Decrypt has reached out to Circle and Apple for comment on the news, and will update this article should we receive a response.

What is USDC?

Circle’s USDC is currently the second-largest stablecoin on the market, following Tether's USDT, with a market cap of almost $35 billion at the time of writing per data from CoinGecko.

Circle recently won EU approval to issue its stablecoins in Europe, after meeting the requirements put forward by the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation.