According to Bloomberg, Apple is developing a new payment service that will allow iPhones to accept payments directly on the device without the need for additional hardware. Now, the iPhone can accept credit card payments through external hardware like Square Reader, but Apple’s new technology will eliminate the need for third-party products.

Individuals and small businesses will be able to accept payments by tapping a debit or credit card on the iPhone, likely using the NFC chip already built into Apple devices, the report said.

Apple began developing hardware-less credit card payments back in 2020, when it acquired Mobeewave for about $100 million. Mobeewave is a startup that creates technology for smartphones to accept payments using NFC.

At the time, Mobeewave’s website said that sending a payment with the Mobeewave app was as simple as entering the transaction amount and tapping an NFC card on the back of a smartphone, and that Apple’s built-in payments feature likely worked in a similar fashion.

It’s unclear if the payments service will be bundled into Apple Pay, but the team developing the feature has been working in Apple’s payments division, Bloomberg said.

Apple is planning to roll out the feature in the next few months, perhaps in the iOS 15.4 update due in the spring.