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Apple in Talks With Retailers About Mobile Payments Service

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Apple is in talks with several high-profile retail store chains about a mobile payment service, reports 9to5Mac. Citing a source with knowledge of the discussions, the site suggests Apple is speaking with retail store brands that sell luxury clothing and premium goods to gauge interest in such a service.

An Apple-branded mobile payment solution would likely be integrated directly into iOS devices, allowing people to use their iPhones or other devices to make purchases for physical goods both on the web as well as in retail stores. Currently, iTunes customers can use their accounts to make purchases in iTunes and in brick and mortar Apple Stores, a feature Apple hopes to expand to third-party retailers.

Discussions with retailers have reportedly focused on the difficulties behind building a unified payment service to be used with multiple retail outlets, with Apple also encouraging retailers to adopt the company's Bluetooth-based iBeacons, which could potentially be used as part of a payments service in the future.
Every retail outlet has unique payment and transaction practices, so building a single mobile payments solution will require extensive research from Apple, and the company appears to be in that research and development phase.

Apple has also been asking retailers to survey customers regarding potential interest in paying for items with their smartphones and other mobile devices. Apple also has been seeking general insight from retail store chains to see if the companies would be interested in utilizing an Apple payments service.
Click to expand...
Apple's interest in a possible mobile payment solution has been rumored for years, but gained renewed attention in early 2014, after The Wall Street Journal reported Apple was looking to develop a mobile payment service to leverage its store of more than 800 million iTunes accounts, many of which have credit cards attached.

In April, the company was said to be in talks with several senior payments industry executives about possible roles at the company and Apple has also spoken with Paypal about a possible partnership.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, a mobile payment solution was "one of the thoughts" behind Touch ID. He has also said that Apple is "intrigued" with mobile payments, noting that there's a "big opportunity on the platform."

Apple has promised new hardware, software, and services in 2014, and it is possible that a mobile payment service could come later this year, though a set date is unclear as the company is still in the developmental stages.

Article Link: Apple in Talks With Retailers About Mobile Payments Service
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/05/29/apple-mobile-payments-service/
The Doctor11

The Doctor11

macrumors 603
Dec 15, 2013
5,974
1,406
New York
This would be great. I think if apple had a mobile payment service that would be awesome and be very useful.

Oh god here come all the "this is NFC" comments
 
casperes1996

casperes1996

macrumors 604
Jan 26, 2014
7,418
5,518
Horsens, Denmark
I really want this

I really can't wait for a future where all my transactions go trough my iTunes account, and I have to carry no cash, credit card, or anything but my phone... And 600 extended battery cases, so I don't get stranded with no money.
 
2

2457282

Suspended
Dec 6, 2012
3,327
3,015
Tim, Please buy Square. Their CashRegister is already based on the iPad. And I love everything they do. This is the way to go. That will allow you to integrate the square wallet with passbook and ibeacons and boom you have a solid service that already accepts all the credit cards and allows the phone to be a wallet.

Make this happen, Tim, Pleeeeeezzzzzzz
 
B

bigchrisfgb

macrumors 65816
Jan 24, 2010
1,453
644
In my opinion they need to target other retailers than just those who sell luxury items. Every day stores and big chains need to be signed up first, once you sign them up the rest will fall.

I also hope they sign deals outside of the USA as well.
 
Analog Kid

Analog Kid

macrumors G3
Mar 4, 2003
8,861
11,383
Revearti said:
Sold. I want my phone to be my wallet.
Click to expand...
I still don't see the point of all this. Is it faster, easier, more secure? Am I the only person left who wants their phone to be a phone and their wallet to be their wallet? Are plastic credit cards just too big and heavy to carry around anymore?
jjmcpherson said:
If I get higher cash back than I do with my Amex, I'll think about it.
Click to expand...
Cash back is the biggest scam ever. You get a percent or three discount on purchases, but they charge vendors 5%. By incentivizing you to use the card, Amex gets to skim more off of the vendors profits. It would be in the vendor's interest to give you a 4% discount for using cash, but differential pricing is forbidden by most vendor agreements.

Leaches on the free market...
 
djam

djam

macrumors newbie
May 6, 2011
16
37
Why does it have to go through an Apple account? I'd far rather NFC and be able to use my banks app to pay.

I feel there are going to be a lot of other people that think this way too.
 
doelcm82

doelcm82

macrumors 68040
Feb 11, 2012
3,749
2,769
Florida, USA
ArtOfWarfare said:
Not going to fly until states start issuing digital drivers licenses and IDs.
Click to expand...

I see what you did there! But at least I don't have to print out my boarding pass any more.

And until the IDs and ATM cards go digital, I'll have to be satisfied with a thinner wallet.
 
luckydcxx

luckydcxx

macrumors 65816
Jun 13, 2013
1,158
419
Analog Kid said:
Cash back is the biggest scam ever. You get a percent or three discount on purchases, but they charge vendors 5%. By incentivizing you to use the card, Amex gets to skim more off of the vendors profits. It would be in the vendor's interest to give you a 4% discount for using cash, but differential pricing is forbidden by most vendor agreements.

Leaches on the free market...
Click to expand...

how do gas station get away with charging 10 cents more per gallon with a credit card then? the way it was explained to me is that the credit card price is the actual price and they are giving you a discount if you pay cash. That way they can't say it's extra for a credit card its just that it is less if you pay cash.

----------

i still think this is such a great idea ... https://onlycoin.com

i wouldn't mind if i had to carry around just the 1 card and i could fit it inside of the cell phone case that has the card carrier built in the back.
 
B

bushman4

macrumors 601
Mar 22, 2011
4,019
3,422
Still probably a year or two off. If NFC appears in iphone6 as has been suggested by an analyst then we may see it in use in high end stores or limited use.
 
I

iolinux333

macrumors 68000
Feb 9, 2014
1,798
73
There's like 60 different kinds of wallet cases on amazon. Before they started making them in china I used to make my own and they add hardly any more bulk than a regular case. My phone has already been my wallet for nearly a decade. Cards and cash work just fine and never need recharging.
 
A

AppleHater

macrumors 6502a
Jun 9, 2010
788
104
One thing I don't get about these new payment methods is that iTunes account is linked to a credit card. That means that there are fees to the credit cards and the cut for Apple. So, how does this extra layer of payment helps us customers?

Will Apple eventually come up with its own direct payment system without credit cards?
 
E

engg2000

macrumors regular
Oct 25, 2009
121
21
Comment, NO
This is a brilliant move by Apple.

Right now, chip cards allow "Tap to Pay" but that is totally insecure. If the card was linked to the Apple NFC chip, the user could tap to pay and validate with the finger print...no passcode to key in, no worry about a camera planted above or someone looking over your shoulder to steal your passcode.
You would also be able to link any of your chip credit cards or check/debit cards to the phone and use an app to select which one to use (similar idea to Coin but not obsolete...mag stripe?).
Sure hope this will be implemented with the next iphone.

M
 
OtherJesus

OtherJesus

macrumors 6502
Sep 28, 2005
378
132
Bay Area, California
djam said:
Why does it have to go through an Apple account? I'd far rather NFC and be able to use my banks app to pay.

I feel there are going to be a lot of other people that think this way too.
Click to expand...
Think Apple ID and hundreds of millions of cards Apple has on file. Think Touch ID.

----------
AppleHater said:
One thing I don't get about these new payment methods is that iTunes account is linked to a credit card. That means that there are fees to the credit cards and the cut for Apple. So, how does this extra layer of payment helps us customers?

Will Apple eventually come up with its own direct payment system without credit cards?
Click to expand...
It's a good question. Direct deposit from bank account to Apple? Isn't that a debit card?
Or should Apple open it's own bank and buy the USA? Personally, I like the latter.
 
Constable Odo

Constable Odo

macrumors 6502
Mar 28, 2008
483
268
Yessss. Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Apple can do a Beats acquisition and still do mobile payments. It's good to hear Apple is making some diverse moves to take pressure off of having to mainly rely on iPhone sales.
 
M

Merkie

macrumors 68020
Oct 23, 2008
2,119
734
ArtOfWarfare said:
Not going to fly until states start issuing digital drivers licenses and IDs.
Click to expand...

This is already happening in a lot of countries.

----------
engg2000 said:
This is a brilliant move by Apple.

Right now, chip cards allow "Tap to Pay" but that is totally insecure. If the card was linked to the Apple NFC chip, the user could tap to pay and validate with the finger print...no passcode to key in, no worry about a camera planted above or someone looking over your shoulder to steal your passcode.
You would also be able to link any of your chip credit cards or check/debit cards to the phone and use an app to select which one to use (similar idea to Coin but not obsolete...mag stripe?).
Sure hope this will be implemented with the next iphone.

M
Click to expand...
Why is tap to pay with a card insecure?
 
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