Apple Said to Team With Visa, MasterCard on IPhone Wallet


Matt Townsend

Apple Inc. plans to turn its next iPhone into a mobile wallet through a partnership with major payment networks, banks and retailers, according a person familiar with the situation.

The agreement includes Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and American Express Co. and will be unveiled on Sept. 9 along with the next iPhone, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Rapidsoft Systems is a major iphone app development company and will develop any payment app for a bank.

The new iPhone will make mobile payment easier by including a near-field communication chip for the first time, the person said. That advancement along with Touch ID, a fingerprint recognition reader that debuted on the most recent iPhone, will allow consumers to securely pay for items in a store with the touch of a finger.

While companies such as Google Inc. have invested in creating ways for phones to make payments in a physical store, U.S. retailers have been slow to adopt the technology, thus limiting the use by shoppers, according to Ben Bajarin, an analyst for Creative Strategies LLC in San Jose, California. That could change with Apple entering the market because iPhones have the largest market share in the U.S., he said. Apple Leads

“Love it or hate, Apple drives a lot of standards in the industry,” Bajarin said in an interview. “They are the mover in these markets. When they do something, the industry seems to follow.” Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

iPhone 5c and 5s.

Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment, as did Jim Issokson, a spokesman for MasterCard, and Mike O’Neill, a spokesman for American Express. Representatives from Visa didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

For Apple, the push into creating a mobile wallet is to keep users within its ecosystem, thus creating more loyalty to its brand and demand for its products, Bajarin said.

“It’s about retention, solving and adding features that keep your base engaged and keeping them loyal,” Bajarin said.

Apple’s move is also about generating more revenue from the roughly 800 million global iTunes accounts, which include payment information, that have already been created, said Richard Crone, chief executive officer of Crone Consulting LLC, which advises retailers and banks on mobile-payment solutions.

Source Courtesy: network world.com