Apple has acquired Mobeewave, a company that turns phones into credit card terminals. This means that in the future, you could be able to accept credit card payments with your iPhone by simply tapping the card on the back. No magnetic stripe readers or other external boxes are required; just an app.

The technology is already available on Samsung phones, but Apple could be taking it to the next level. Every iPhone owner in the world also has an Apple ID, and most have a payment method tied to that ID. Just as you can now use Apple Pay by tapping your iPhone on a terminal in a store to pay for goods, you could perhaps do the opposite and tap to receive payments.

This could revolutionize the way we pay each other.

In many countries, credit cards are already the default payment method for most people. And almost everywhere outside of the US, NFC card terminals are the standard. These are the terminals that read the chip in a card wirelessly. Almost no one uses magnetic stripe readers to swipe cards anymore. They are only there for legacy compatibility and are much less secure.