Apple appears to be making considerable steps toward smartphone based payments.
Patents, reports, and rumors are coming together to provide a continually increasing body of evident that suggests that the iPhone 6, which is expected to be released this fall, will include a mobile wallet to allow owners to be able to use their smartphones to pay for purchases.
This will make Apple a rather late entrant into the mobile payments market space.
Despite this fact, a mobile wallet in an i-device is likely to have a massive impact on the small but growing trend. Many people believe that this is the addition required to bring mobile payments into the mainstream. This may also help to encourage increased use of struggling services such as Isis and Google Wallet.
More evidence of a possible iPhone 6 mobile wallet was generated by Apple’s talks with Visa.
Reports have now been published that have indicated that Apple has entered into discussions with Visa as well as a number of other credit card companies regarding the creation of mobile payments partnerships.
If the electronics giant does go ahead with this technology, it would mean that users of its smartphones would be able to use their devices to be able to complete mobile transactions. Therefore, even when purchasing physical goods in brick and mortar retail stores, they will still be able to pay at the checkout counter using the device instead of a credit card.
At the same time a digital wallet would also give the upcoming iPhone’s users the opportunity to use that same type of transaction to pay for products that they purchase online and in apps. This would convert the smartphone into a direct connection to credit card companies for making payments. This could help consumers and retailers, alike, in being able to save money by avoiding the third party transaction processing fees that are paid in traditional credit card based purchases.
The main focus for Apple mobile wallets would be on security, as the company has reportedly added a secure hardware element to their upcoming devices, though it is unknown whether that will be based upon NFC technology or another option altogether.
Amazon has a keen interest in the mobile space. The company has been keeping track of the growing popularity of mobile commerce for some time and has seen how consumers favor its convenience. The Amazon Fire smartphone is meant to serve as a way for the company to obtain a deeper understanding of how the mobile market functions and see what consumers actually want. The card reader that the company may be developing is meant to take advantage of the growing popularity of mobile commerce.