According to the rumors, Apple could be interested in entering the mobile payment market. Given that Apple has millions of credit card information on file, thanks to the number of users purchasing and downloading apps, movies, music, TV shows from the iTunes App Store, we guess the creation of a mobile payment service did make sense.
That and the fact that the iPhone 5s comes with a fingerprint scanner that will help with authentication, well all of this just smells like a setup for a mobile payment service in the future. Now according to the folks at 9to5Mac, they claim that one of their sources has revealed to them that Apple is currently in talks with retail store chains about implementing some form of mobile payments service.
These talks have reportedly taken place over the past few months and have involved high-end retail store brands which sells luxury clothing and premium goods, suggesting that maybe Apple could be targeting the high-end market first before moving into more mainstream markets. The talks have also revealed the difficulties of building a unified payment service, especially since different retailers have different payment and transaction practices.
9to5Mac’s sources have also told them that Apple has asked retailers to survey their customers regarding the idea of being able to pay for goods using their smartphones and other mobile devices. Apple’s interest in mobile payments has been briefly touched upon by Tim Cook before, when he mentioned that one of the uses of Touch ID could be towards mobile payments, stating that it was a big opportunity and that Apple was “intrigued”.
Whether this will lead to anything remains to be seen, but with Apple promising to deliver their best products in 25 years, perhaps we can look forward to Apple revealing their mobile payment system later this year. Until then do take it with a grain of salt.
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