Apple revealed this week that it will roll out Tap to Pay on iPhones through a partner-enabled iOS app, allowing U.S. merchants to accept Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards and other digital wallets with a tap of customers’ iPhones without the need for hardware or payment terminals.

The move could upend a $1.7 trillion contactless pay market, analysts told MSN.

Besides Apple, one company positioned to benefit is Stripe, which Apple said would be the first service to take advantage of the new capability. According to research analysis firm CB Insights, Stripe processed more than $350 billion in payments in 2020.

A potential loser: Hardware providers such as Square, which offers a card reader that inserts into the headphone jack for iPhone.

Tap to Pay uses near-field communication (NFC), which can communicate with other NFC devices within about 4 inches, according to Digital Trends. It evolved from radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, which is used for longer distances, such as with security scan cards or tollbooth payments.

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