Apple currently has passbooks which is stores tickets and other information in a neat little place on your phone. Apple however hasn’t jumped into mobile payments, until now. 9to5Mac, Recode, and Bloomberg are reporting that Apple’s partnered with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express to bring mobile payments to the iPhone 6. Apple also doesn’t want to reinvent the wheel with some crazy way to pay, they are rumored to be using NFC to make payments.
The timing couldn’t be better for Apple either. Credit card companies have to switch from magnetic to using embedded chips for added security from theft and fraud. This means that many retailers will also have to upgrade their point of sales systems in-order to keep accepting credit cards, and accept NFC mobile payments. While Google hasn’t had much success with Google Wallet many experts believe Apple will have more success. An analyst told Bloomberg things look better for Apple. “Love it or hate it, Apple drives a lot of standards in the industry. They are the mover in these markets. When they do something, the industry seems to follow.”
We could see this partnership announced at Apple’s September 9th event where we will also see the iPhone 6 hopefully announced. Then again this is Apple and many times rumors end up being just rumors. We’ve heard rumors about a wearable device from the company for well over two years and nothings leaked or been announced yet. Mobile payments would only make sense for Apple to compete against Google and Android’s growing influence and power.
Do you think you would use mobile payments with the iPhone 6 or would it be some extra feature that you would ignore? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!