Apple brings Tap to Pay to Netherlands businesses

Apple has introduced its Tap to Pay secure contactless payment system to the Netherlands, with two local firms adopting the service for the iPhone, and more expected to follow.

Apple launched Tap to Pay in the US in 2022, and has since rolled it out to Australia and the UK.

Now it's available in the Netherlands and, according to local publication iCulture.ni, the firms Adyen and SumUp are supporting it immediately. Adyen is a payment platform that already supports Tap to Pay in the US, and SumUp sells card readers.

These two are reportedly due to be joined soon with what appear to be at least the majority of the main payment platforms in the Netherlands. They include Rabobank, Klearly, Revolut, Stripe and myPOS.

Perhaps unusually, Tap to Pay is not immediately available in the country's Apple Stores, but iCulture.ni reports that it will be in the coming weeks.

For users, Tap to Pay works just the same as Apple Pay does. Instead of holding an iPhone next to a merchant's card reader, though, they can hold it against another iPhone.

"Now, with Tap to Pay on iPhone it's easier than ever for businesses of any size to seamlessly accept contactless payments using only their iPhone, wherever they do business," said Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, when the service was launched in Australia. "The convenience of Tap to Pay on iPhone empowers... businesses to offer easy, secure, and private contactless payment experiences to their customers, and help them run and grow their business."