Apple’s upcoming payment service using the NFC technology has a number of security vulnerabilities which could allow unauthorized withdrawal of funds, experts say.
In late January 2022, Bloomberg reported that Apple is developing a NFC-based contactless payment service. iPhone devices supporting NFC would be able to accept tap-to-pay transactions from payment cards. However, malicious users could withdraw funds from unlocked phones using this technology, Russia’s Angara Technologies Group said.
According to Angara, short-range NFC signals are not blocked by textiles. An unlocked phone lying in its user’s pocket could be vulnerable to unauthorized cash withdrawals.
It remains unclear how the NFC hardware would be activated, as well as how banks would combat unauthorized transactions.
Apple’s new payment service would allow it to earn commission fees from transactions made via its NFC terminals, experts say. The development is controversial from a business standpoint and raises questions with no clear answer.
