Apple to allow third-party apps to use iPhone’s NFC chip for payments and more, coming with iOS 18.1

Apple says that it will allow developers to offer in-app NFC transactions using the Secure Element starting with iOS 18.1. The functionality was previously limited to Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. The announcement comes after the iPhone maker announced to open the NFC chip to third-party apps in the European Union in accordance with the Digital Markets Act.