Bank Indonesia urges Apple to open NFC permissions so that iPhone 17 and others support QRIS Tap contactless payments

IT House, February 25 — Technology media Kompas published a blog post yesterday (February 24) reporting that Bank Indonesia (BI) is actively urging Apple to open NFC permissions for the iPhone to support Indonesia’s local “Tap to Pay” feature QRIS Tap.

The report states that Bank Indonesia is in active negotiations with Apple Indonesia and its global headquarters, aiming to enable users of Indonesia’s iPhone 17 and other models to smoothly use the local QRIS Tap payment feature.

Bank Indonesia Vice Governor Filianingsih explicitly stated at a press conference in February 2026 that representatives from Apple’s Indonesia team and headquarters have visited the central bank.

Apple is currently conducting an in-depth assessment of the QRIS Tap feature and considering following its approach in the European Union market by opening NFC permissions to third-party developers. However, the company has not yet announced a specific timeline for supporting QRIS Tap on iPhones.

From a technical perspective, QRIS Tap is an innovative payment method launched by Bank Indonesia in March 2025, based on NFC technology. As an upgrade to traditional QR code scanning payments, QRIS Tap allows users to bring NFC-enabled smartphones close to EDC (Electronic Data Capture) terminals or other scanning devices to complete payments. This feature has already been successfully integrated into several mainstream mobile banking and e-wallet apps in Indonesia.

Data from Bank Indonesia shows that QRIS Tap is particularly widely used in high-frequency transaction sectors such as public transportation, hotels, and restaurants. Filianingsih pointed out that the feature has processed over 475,000 transactions, with a monthly growth rate of 7.9%; at the same time, the total transaction volume has increased by 6.4% month-over-month, reaching approximately 4.6 billion Indonesian rupiah.