Apple to turn iPhones into payment terminals 🤯; Walmart is building a Super App? 🤔; The rise of institutional crypto custody 💸

Good Morning FinTech, January 28

Good day Everyone,

And happy Friday! You made it, congrats 👏 I know I said that yesterday was great when it comes to FinTech but today is just… 🤯 Check it out yourself - a mix of 3 awesome FinTech stories is ready for your digest:

Apple to turn iPhones into payment terminals 🤯

The news 👀 Tech giant Apple is reportedly working on an update that will transform its iPhone into a payment terminal, enabling users to accept payments with the tap of a card.

The PFWTM 👉 Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg says the company has been working on the new feature since around 2020 when it paid $100M for Canadian startup Mobeewave.

New rivalry ⚔️ The feature is likely to provide a setback to Square, PayPal’s iZettle, and the new breed of SoftPOS vendors, by providing the tap-and-pay functionality as an integrated part of the device, with no need for third party help.

Apple may begin rolling out the feature via a software update in the coming months, say Bloomberg sources. The company is expected to release the first beta version of iOS 15.4 in the near future, which is likely to see a final release for consumers as early as spring.