With the growing popularity of implanted NFC chips,Apple recently announced a major update that plans to open up the iPhone’s NFC (Near Field Communication) chip to third-party apps to support contactless payments and a variety of other application scenarios through the upcoming iOS 18.1 release. This move breaks the previous exclusivity of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet and marks a major opening up of Apple’s NFC technology adoption. The new feature will be available first in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S., with plans to expand to more regions in the future.
With the new NFC and SE (Secure Element) APIs, developers will be able to enable contactless data exchange within apps covering a wide range of uses such as closed-loop public transit, corporate work permits, student IDs, home keys, hotel keys, merchant loyalty and rebate cards, and even event tickets, Apple said. A wider range of applications such as ID cards will also be supported in the future. In order to achieve this function, developers need to sign a commercial agreement with Apple, apply for NFC and SE authorization, and pay the relevant fees, but the specific fee structure has not yet been announced.
The opening of the NFC function is seen as a compromise made by Apple under EU antitrust pressure, and is also part of the first time in Apple’s history that it has opened up its payment function to third parties. In addition, Apple announced a major update to its App Store policy, allowing European developers to promote and sell their products outside of the Apple ecosystem in order to comply with the EU’s Digital Marketplace Act.
To integrate this new solution into iPhone apps, developers will need to sign a commercial agreement with Apple, apply for NFC and SE licenses, and pay the associated fees, Apple said. As of now, however, Apple has not released any details about the fee structure.
Anti Counterfeiting NFC Tags – ISO/IEC14443-A Certified for Secure Product Authentication
1. What is NFC chips
NFC (Near Field Communication) chips are small, wireless communication devices that enable short-range data exchange (typically within 4 cm or less). They operate at 13.56 MHz and are based on RFID technology, but with faster, more secure two-way communication.
1.1 How Do NFC Chips Work?
- Passive Mode: Most common. The NFC chip (e.g., in a credit card or implant) has no power—it’s activated by an NFC reader (like a smartphone or payment terminal).
- Active Mode: Both devices (e.g., two phones) generate their own RF field to exchange data (like file transfers).
1.2 Where Are NFC Chips Used?
- Contactless Payments (Apple Pay, Google Wallet, credit cards).
- Access Control (keycards, hotel room keys, car door unlocks).
- Smart Implants (human NFC chips for storing medical data, unlocking doors).
- Retail & Marketing (smart posters, product authentication).
- Device Pairing (Bluetooth/Wi-Fi quick-connect).
1.3 NFC vs. RFID vs. Bluetooth
| Feature | NFC | RFID | Bluetooth |
| Range | <4 cm | Up to 100m | ~10m+ |
| Speed | Slow (424 kbps) | Variable | Fast (2-3 Mbps) |
| Power | Passive/Active | Usually passive | Active only |
| Use Case | Payments, taps | Inventory tracking | Audio, file transfers |
2. Why is NFC chip so important?
NFC technology originated from RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), is a kind of short-range wireless communication technology, working in the frequency band of 13.56MHz.Compared with RFID, NFC has the characteristics of two-way identification and connection, so that the transmitter and receiver are no longer limited to a fixed master-slave relationship, and it can realize point-to-point transmission of data.NFC technology has a wide range of applications in the fields of access control, ticketing of entertainment venues, contactless payment and automobile remote control keys. NFC technology is widely used in the fields of access control, entertainment ticketing, contactless payment and automobile remote control keys.
NFC breaks through the RFID is its two-way identification and connection characteristics, the transmitter and receiver are no longer limited to a fixed master-slave relationship, in the active mode, both sides can act as the master device for the point-to-point transmission of data.The working principle of the NFC chip involves NFC readers (read-write), NFC tags (label) and NFC controller chips (control chip). chips. Among them, NFC controller chips are usually embedded in NFC-enabled devices (e.g., smartphones) and are the core part of the system. As smartphone penetration increases and the cost of NFC chips decreases, NFC technology is becoming more accessible and easier to use.
In 2003, Philips and Sony jointly launched NFC technology and in the following year launched the NFC Forum in conjunction with Nokia, the cell phone giant at the time.Today, products certified by the NFC Forum are not only permanently listed on the NFC Forum’s official website, expanding the product’s visibility around the world, but also ensuring a more reliable relationship with other NFC-enabled products. Operability. Currently, NFC products on the market are mainly related to mobile payments, poster campaigns, and fast pairing and connection of Bluetooth or Wi-Fi products.
In June 2006, Nokia, China Mobile, Philips and ETC launched China’s first NFC mobile payment trial in Xiamen. Users using Nokia 3220 cell phone embedded with NFC module can make cell phone payment at any business outlets covered by ETC (bus, car, ferry, cinema, fast food restaurant).
NFC technology was first introduced to smartphones in September 2011, more than a decade ago, and the characteristics of NFC chips have led to a steady growth in the market for NFC tags and reader chips, which reached US$3 billion in 2020, then grew to about US$3.5 billion in 2021, and further expanded to US$4 billion in 2022. The market size reached $3 billion in 2020, then grew to about $3.5 billion in 2021 and further expanded to $4 billion in 2022.
Among the NFC market segments, the applications in mobile payment, smart home, IoT, and healthcare are showing extensive and rapid growth. Among them, healthcare, smart home and IoT applications are growing most rapidly.
The functions that NFC chips can realize are not irreplaceable. Under certain circumstances, QR code technology and RFID technology can provide similar functional characteristics to NFC. QR code technology, namely by scanning the image of the two-dimensional code to realize the rapid transmission of data, although it requires the user to perform the scanning action, the process is more cumbersome in comparison. RFID as a wireless means of communication, its significant advantage is that the communication distance is farther, but accordingly, it is more power-consuming, and usually requires special read-write equipment to complete the reading and writing of information, which increases the complexity of the system. complexity of the system.
However, compared to the above two technologies, NFC’s wider applicability, simplicity of operation, and high level of security have made it stand out from the crowd and become widely popular. As smartphones generally have built-in NFC functions, users can easily experience the convenience brought by NFC, without the need to carry additional special read/write devices, and can realize convenient NFC interactions with just a smartphone.
3. NFC Chip Applications at a Glance
For many years, NFC technology has been continuously exploring new application areas and enriching its usage scenarios. Sometimes, NFC technology plays a key role in places we can’t see, such as the anti-counterfeiting verification of electric toothbrush heads and NFC wireless charging of smart wearable devices. As NFC technology continues to grow in popularity, the number of related application areas is also increasing.
In the field of healthcare, medical enterprises can use NFC tags for the inventory of medical supplies and the wake-up and pairing of wearable medical devices. In the past two years, the new trend of NFC wireless charging, miniaturized wearable devices to join the NFC chip can also be wireless charging, enhance the user experience, rich functionality.
NFC chip characteristics can also meet the information security requirements of certain application scenarios. For example, digital signature can be used to verify the authenticity of the chip; privacy mode can be used to protect the chip from being read by a third party in specific application scenarios.
The combination of NFC + sensors is also beginning to provide more possibilities for consumer products. After all, with the widespread popularity of NFC on cell phones, using the phone’s NFC function to read environmental parameters recorded by sensors makes the whole process more efficient and convenient. Similarly, an increasing number of cell phone applications have greatly enriched the application areas of NFC technology. For example, in blockchain-based solutions, the combination of mobile apps and NFC technology can more securely provide product anti-counterfeiting and traceability functions, while also using mobile apps to read sensor data using NFC to understand the history of environmental parameters, thus facilitating the cold chain and other similar applications.
Some toy manufacturers are also actively developing applications that incorporate NFC tags built into toys to enrich toy play and incorporate educational elements. In short, the playability of the implanted NFC chip makes it possible to expand the available scenarios indefinitely.
Dual Frequency RFID Tag – UHF and NFC Compatibility for Versatile Asset Tracking
4.NFC chip market: richer function, cheaper price
Many international big manufacturers have layout on NFC products. For example, millet bracelet with NXP’s NFC control chip; ST’s customer aggregation is not only in the field of consumer electronics, but also in the field of blockchain; on the domestic side, Fudan Micro, SEIKO Technology also has NFC chip products.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, the digital badges worn by volunteers adopted Fudan Microelectronics’ FMSC single-chip passive NFC program, and they only need to complete the editing of the screen content in the cell phone APP, and then gently touch the cell phone to the badges, and then the screen can be refreshed after a few seconds.
SEIKO Technology’s first NFC (Near Field Communication) chip has also been certified by the NFC Forum, marking that the product’s interoperability and RF performance have reached commercial standards, kicking off Huitian Technology’s foray into the NFC application market.
For NFC chip manufacturers, if with their own sensors or MCU products, they can propose richer solutions for customers. NFC dynamic tags can not only supply power to low-power MCUs, but also read data from various sensors. This integrated solution provides customers with more flexibility and convenience, helping them to better meet market demands and driving the development of application areas for NFC and sensor technologies.
In the field of NFC tags, technological advances have been remarkable. From the NFC chips based on 180nm process ten years ago to the products with 130nm technology that have been mass-produced today, the performance of NFC chips has realized a qualitative leap, while the price continues to fall. The mass production cost of the new generation of NFC chips has been reduced to a very low level, the price of a single chip can be controlled at less than 2 cents, and further processed into tags, the total cost of its can also be maintained at less than 4 cents. This price range has been close to UHF tags, making NFC technology very competitive in the market.
It can be said that in the industry have lamented “Moore’s Law is dead” at the moment, NFC chip is still “old generation”. But it can play a role in a variety of extremely advanced products, and has not been forgotten by the market or cold.
5. Xiaohongshu for NFC chip with goods
The wide application of NFC technology is due to the synergistic promotion of multiple factors.
First, the cost of NFC chips continues to decrease, making it more affordable to integrate NFC functionality into all types of products, further driving its popularity.
Secondly, the trend of convergence between wireless technology standards and NFC technology has strengthened, providing strong support for building a more convenient network environment.
Of course, the most important thing is that with the increasing popularity of smartphones, NFC technology can be more easily integrated into people’s daily lives, thus promoting its widespread use. Even on Xiaohongshu, you can see many people posting tutorials on gifts made with NFC chips, as well as posts on brands detecting the authenticity of their products through NFC chip tags.
Back to the opening statement, when Apple opened the development of NFC chips, what kind of new play will Apple, which is known for innovation, bring to NFC? Perhaps consumers and NFC vendors would like to know.
6. Conclusion
Apple’s decision to unlock its implanted NFC chips marks a pivotal shift in digital transactions, fueling both innovation and consumerism. While third-party access empowers developers and users with greater flexibility, it also raises questions about security, privacy, and the unchecked growth of cashless ecosystems. As iOS 18.1 rolls out, the real test will be whether this openness benefits society—or simply accelerates our descent into a hyper-commercialized future. One thing is certain: the way we pay, interact, and even embed technology in our lives will never be the same.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
7.1 What does Apple’s NFC opening mean for users?
Previously restricted to Apple Pay, the iPhone’s NFC chip will now allow third-party apps to process contactless payments, access control (e.g., car keys, hotel rooms), and even health data—potentially turning your phone into a universal digital wallet.
7.2 Are implanted NFC chips the same as iPhone’s NFC?
No. Implanted NFC chips (like those from Dangerous Things or VivoKey) are embedded in the human body, while iPhones use built-in NFC for external communication. However, Apple’s move could normalize NFC reliance, indirectly boosting interest in implantable tech.
7.3 Will this make digital payments less secure?
Apple claims strict security protocols, but third-party access increases risks like skim attacks or malware. Biometric authentication (Face ID/Touch ID) and tokenization should still protect transactions—but vigilance is key.
7.4 Why is this update called an “orgy of consumerism”?
Critics argue that by monetizing every tap (from payments to ads), Apple and app developers will further embed commerce into daily life—turning even mundane actions into profit opportunities.
7.5 Which countries get the feature first?
Initial rollout targets Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S., with global expansion later.
7.6 Could this lead to “pay with your body” via implants?
Not immediately, but Apple’s NFC openness could pave the way for future integration with wearable or implantable tech—blurring lines between devices and biology.
7.7 How does this affect Apple Pay’s dominance?
Apple Pay will lose exclusivity, but its seamless UX and brand trust may keep it dominant. Competitors (like PayPal or Shopify) now have a fighting chance.