The top mobile provider, Apple, has announced the release of a new peer-to-peer (P2P) function called "Tap to Cash," which enables iPhone users to send money to one another only by holding their phones together.

"Tap to Cash," which is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2024, may be used to easily pay someone back at supper or make purchases at a yard sale or neighborhood market without even requiring users to know each other's phone numbers.

The P2P payments functionality is scheduled to be included in the iOS 18 update for iPhone, the tech giant announced in a recent press release.

Apple: Increasing data sharing with just a "tap"

For a while now, iPhone users have had the ability to exchange data between phones with just a single tap.

One of the most popular ways for consumers to utilize mobile payments—and avoid using a card or PIN—is through Apple Pay, which enables fast and easy purchases.

With the introduction of "Tap to Pay," Apple has now created the first operating system that enables two individuals to transfer money with just a single phone tap.

Additional connected Users of iPhones will be able to access installment plans for compatible debit and credit cards and earn rewards through the Apple Pay iOS 18 upgrades.

It remains to be seen if Apple's most recent feature infringes on other P2P payment platforms like PayPal or, in the US, Venmo.

Locality is the one factor that "Tap to Pay" depends on. P2P transactions require users to be in close proximity to one another, but Venmo transactions may be executed from any place inside the United States (for PayPal, this is worldwide).

Depending on the most common P2P transaction types, "Tap to Pay" may or may not be able to influence the leaders in P2P payments.

Due to the probable distance between users, money transfers for online ticket purchases, for instance, would not be common on "Tap to Pay," but restaurant payments might witness a jump in "Tap to Pay" use relative to PayPal or Venmo transactions.

Apple: Connecting Siri and OpenAI

In fact, the news that Apple's Siri voice assistant would begin to use ChatGPT from OpenAI starting with iOS 18 has somewhat eclipsed the introduction of "Tap to Pay."

Alongside the release of its new "Apple Intelligence" suite of AI-powered on-device processing tools, Apple also announced a surprising cooperation with OpenAI.

Following the news, Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Apple, stated: "Apple Intelligence puts AI models right at the core of your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, protecting your privacy at every step."

The news made a lot of people angry, including OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk, who is currently at odds with the company's CEO Sam Altman, who feels that OpenAI has abandoned its core values and that the company's relationship with Apple is "an unacceptable security violation."

He went on to say that should OpenAI's integration with Apple be finished, employees at his other businesses, which include Tesla and SpaceX, would not be permitted to use Apple products.