As well all know Apple does not like to release things that have not became widespread. There have been many of reports that the next generation iPhone will not support 4g LTE due to the fact that is not available in most areas. The same is true with RFID (Radio-frequency identification) as a payment system. In the us alone only 2 major retailers currently support this type of payment. This payment system allows you to pay with a radio transmitter located in the base of the iPhone. The phone would than access a merchant gateway to charge a bank account, virtual check, or a credit card of the RFID account that's on the iPhone. Some American Express cards have RFID radios that allow for purchases without swiping the card. You just simply wave the card over a transmitter to make a purchase. Do you think that the iPhone will support this payment? Please Comment on your opinion below.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 5 "Will Not" have RFID Payments.
- Thread starter Helixc0de
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
fireshot91
macrumors 601
Don't think so. It hasn't become prominent at ALL. I have yet to hear of one store that has this feature.
Apple won't put it on. Too new. They'll wait to "perfect" it
Apple won't put it on. Too new. They'll wait to "perfect" it
That's one thing I love about Apple. They don't do something until is it perfect not nearly perfect. For them they only made that mistake once. They released a thunderbolt laptop when the cable hasn't even been developed yet.
Apple does occasionally act like a trend setter (thunderbolt, dropping floppy drives, touch screens, etc) but I just don't think the cost/value ratio is right for NFC this year. I mean the cost to add it way outweighs the value a consumer would get from it and therefore any perceived value it might add to new hardware.
Then again, if it allowed for better device integration between devices like the iPhone and iPad like the HP Touchpad and Veer or whatever the stupid phone is called then I'm sold. Basically, its the thing where if your looking at a website on the Touchpad and touch a phone to it, it transfers the site to the phone.
Then again, if it allowed for better device integration between devices like the iPhone and iPad like the HP Touchpad and Veer or whatever the stupid phone is called then I'm sold. Basically, its the thing where if your looking at a website on the Touchpad and touch a phone to it, it transfers the site to the phone.
If I had to guess or predict I would say that the iPhone would need the app running to verify the purchase or the app would just have to be running the the back ground. Also the iPhone would work with the RFID payment system that are currently in the stores.
In the UK RFID seems to have taken off far more than US. We have it in all our major fast food chains and the biggest credit card supplier (barclaycard/visa) is sending it out as standard.
Do I think they'll add it in the next iPhone? I doubt it, because it's not ubiquitous enough yet. Do I hope they'll add it? Hell yes. I really think in the future most of us will be paying for things in shops by beeping our phones against a reader, and using it to store all our transport and concert tickets, just as they currently do in Japan. Naysayers are quick to denounce NFC as being a security risk when in fact it has the potential to be even safer than existing payment methods. (Your phone is protected with a pin and can be remotely wiped. The cash in your wallet is not.)
... and in London all the public transport uses RFID (Oyster card) as the preferred payment option.
I think that it'll be a while, even in the UK, before RFID (NFC) payment terminals are ubiquitous enough for me to be happy to not carry a credit card in my wallet. I'm still hoping for a well implemented NFC capability in an iPhone as soon as possible though, just so that I can drop the Oyster card from the must-have-in-my-wallet list. That would get me down to a single credit card and a single debit card (to get cash from ATMs). If ATMs became widely NFC-enabled then I'd be down to just the single credit card so at that point I wouldn't need a proper wallet at all.
I really look forward to the day when I don't have to bulk-out my trouser pockets with a traditional wallet, and with the rumours of the next iPhone getting even thinner, that might get lighter to carry around as well.
- Julian
Exactly. I don't understand all the security concerns about the virtual-cash scenario. People already have cash that can be stolen so NFC small purchase system is just like cash only better because it has the option to set various levels of PIN protection on it beyond the global PIN that locks the phone.
I think that most (all?) providers are talking about providing an option to require a PIN for every transaction if a user sets it up that way (as opposed to the default of randomly requesting a PIN every few transactions) so that's like having a wallet or purse with a combination lock on it that needs to be opened every time you get out any money. That's way more secure than conventional cash that people carry around with them now.
- Julian
RafaelT
macrumors 65816
While I don't think we will see it in the next iPhone (unfortunately) I think the OP is wrong about how widely deployed it is. While RFID payment terminals still have a long way to go to completely penetrate the market, in addition to a couple of major retailers a lot of smaller ones have it as well.
I own a small 70 seat restaurant and I have an RFID terminal, I have seen it at the movie theaters around here and at a few other places. I would love to be able to make a payment at one of those terminals by my phone.
I own a small 70 seat restaurant and I have an RFID terminal, I have seen it at the movie theaters around here and at a few other places. I would love to be able to make a payment at one of those terminals by my phone.
ToroidalZeus
macrumors 68020
The cash in my wallet is worth maybe 100 or 200 dollars and completely removed from my bank account or identity.
Seriously you UK people are soo quick to give up your rights or privacy, just look at your country now... Camera's on every intersection.
boss.king
Suspended
You've completely ignores the fact that every transaction would require a pin, much like a debit card.
Also the "you UK people are soo quick to give up your rights or privacy" is a completely unrelated to what's being discussed. You don't give up any rights or privacy by paying with your phone instead of cash. I've already given up on cash, now I only use my card. Does that infringe on my rights somehow?
What exactly is the benefit of RFID from a consumer standpoint?
I guess I'm naive here but I can't fathom why I, as a consumer, would want to use my phone to make payments. Not that I'm against it per se, but I don't see how or why it's more convenient in any capacity. This whole concept seems rather asinine to me. When the security issue is raised, some of you guys have pointed out that there will still be PIN security features, etc.
If that is the case, how exactly is that any faster or more convenient than swiping my debit card (which takes what, maybe a second of my time)?
Aside from the "coolness" of it being the latest and greatest technological innovation - I just seriously cannot understand the advantage or benefit of this.
Anybody care to enlighten me? 😕
I guess I'm naive here but I can't fathom why I, as a consumer, would want to use my phone to make payments. Not that I'm against it per se, but I don't see how or why it's more convenient in any capacity. This whole concept seems rather asinine to me. When the security issue is raised, some of you guys have pointed out that there will still be PIN security features, etc.
If that is the case, how exactly is that any faster or more convenient than swiping my debit card (which takes what, maybe a second of my time)?
Aside from the "coolness" of it being the latest and greatest technological innovation - I just seriously cannot understand the advantage or benefit of this.
Anybody care to enlighten me? 😕
boss.king
Suspended
For one, you wouldn't need to carry your wallet around as often. I'm sure there would be more uses for it in time.
boss.king
Suspended
Neither am I, that doesn't mean I want to carry it all the time.
EDIT: Do you have a use for your wallet other than carrying money/cards?
Last edited:
Southern Dad
macrumors 68000
RFID credit card machines are all over the Atlanta area. I use my Chase card with them at Target, CVS and even McDonalds. Super fast.
kilcher
macrumors 65816
Hate to break it to you but there are many areas of the US where there are cameras on every intersection.
I don't think RFID will be in iPhone 5 but I don't think it's because the technology isn't widespread enough. There is a boatload of money to be made in this area over the next 2-3 years. There's no reason why Apple wouldn't want to be an early pioneer vs. playing catchup or having to offer someone else's solution later.
I work in financials with consumer and commercial banking and from what I've seen, while hardware options are being pushed (RFID) on the transactional end, but from the customer perspective, software solutions are fast becoming the middleware which might become perminent. I doubt we'll see RFID built into the iPhone since it would be just as convient and far cheaper on the merchants end (not to mention multi platform, increasing adoption) to implement a software payments system.
No more fumbling around with loose change to board a bus or pay for lunch.
How many credit, debit or store cards do you currently carry in your wallet or purse? Two? Three? Five? All could be stored in the phone instead. Including gift vouchers, coupons, train tickets etc.
One glance at your credit card and I can do a heck of a lot with the numbers on the front and back. Stored in your pin-protected phone (which is essentially a computer) your card details and numbers are hidden and encrypted, and can be remotely wiped should you misplace it.
You could eventually use your phone to store airline tickets, so when you board your flight you just tap your phone to check-in.
No more lining up to buy tickets for transport, events or at the cinema. Buy online on your phone and just tap to enter at the destination.
Driving through a toll booth and don't have the correct change? Tap to pass.
The purchase history on your phone could be analysed by an app, making it easier to budget and see what you're spending your money on.
And the NFC chip will eventually be used for all sorts of different apps beyond mobile payments. Tap two NFC phones together to share contact info. No more "pairing" over bluetooth, just a quick tap and they're paired. Replace your house keys with an NFC-enabled lock (www.lockitron.com)
There are so so many use cases for NFC and I hope Apple do include it in the iPhone 5 because Google are already pushing ahead with their Google Wallet service for the Nexus S, and by the time iPhone 6 comes around Apple could be in a situation where Google are perceived to be the "pioneers" of this technology in the eyes of the general public, so Apple would be seen to be playing catchup with Android AGAIN.
Also, if Apple do include an iWallet feature in iPhone 5, it would give NFC one heck of a kickstart and help to drive adoption by retailers. ("iCash accepted here.")
milani
macrumors 68000
I doubt the iPhone 5 will have NFC. In fact, I'm not confident to say that the iPhone 6 will have NFC. The technology is still at least 5 years out from widespread adoption. Currently, it's an expensive add-on that offers practically no value to the average customer. Apple is far smarter to endorse products like Square*, which will act as a bridge between conventional payments and, eventually, NFC.
*If Apple doesn't eventually buy Square I'll be very surprised. It would be the perfect mobile payments platform, and would certainly allow Apple to rival Google's Wallet, PayPal, and any other mobile payments services that crop up in future. http://squareup.com - learn more.
*If Apple doesn't eventually buy Square I'll be very surprised. It would be the perfect mobile payments platform, and would certainly allow Apple to rival Google's Wallet, PayPal, and any other mobile payments services that crop up in future. http://squareup.com - learn more.