MacRumors reports that it discovered code in the iOS 27 Release Candidate for redeeming Apple gift cards by tapping them against the back of a compatible iPhone.

The newsroom first reported the finding on September 9. Contributor Aaron Perris said the proposed flow would scan a security chip to check whether a card was authentic and unspent, with messages for blocked or cancelled cards.

Those observations concern code described by the reporters. They do not establish that Apple has released the redemption method or begun distributing cards that support it.

In a September 16 followup, MacRumors said the functionality did not appear to be live and that Apple had not announced it. The newsroom described an interface that could check a card's balance before redemption, while saying launch timing remained unknown.

A chip-based check would connect physical-card authentication with the balance-redemption process, if implemented as reported. Neither article supplies measured fraud results or evidence that the interface prevents a particular scam.

The material development is the reported discovery of a different gift-card redemption flow. Its commercial rollout and operating details remain unconfirmed.