Hello, We are currently developing an application that uses the Host-based Card Emulation (HCE) entitlement to enable corporate access functionality. With this entitlement, we have successfully established HCE communication and can interact with our access control systems to unlock doors.
Our question is related to improving the user experience: We would like this access functionality to work without requiring the app to be in the foreground, as this adds friction for users during entry. Specifically, we would like to know:
- Is it possible for our app to coexist with Apple Wallet as the default contactless app, so that:
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Our app handles NFC interactions for corporate access (e.g., opening doors).
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Apple Wallet remains the default for payments.
- If that coexistence is not possible, and our app is set as the default contactless app,
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Will the system still need to launch our app into the foreground to complete a transaction (e.g., to emulate the NFC card)?
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Or is there a way to trigger HCE responses in the background (e.g., using a background process or service extension)?
Any guidance on how to configure the app for optimal background access behavior, while maintaining compatibility with Wallet, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.