Should apple start they own payment network

[tess1988]

Ok so i was thinking if apple included NFC mobile payments into the next iphone i would hope they would atleast include 1 payment network such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover etc and a major bank plus do what google wallet has done any provide a debit card(maybe mastercard as well) to debit a itunes account.

But also seeing that NFC merchants are just staring to roll out in the US at around 15,000+ locations(or about 1.5%) i think it is the time to start there own payment network(would roll out to other courtiers as well)

Now im not sure what the Merchants/Interchange fees are for the US are but Square is 2.75% for visa, MC & Amex and i guess the new starbucks deal they will pay less.

so if apple charged 1% maybe shops might sign up and lets say
30% of that or .03% would go to apple
40% of that or .04% would go to the bank provider holding the money/providing the credit card
30% of that or .03% would go into a fund which then when the shop provide a coupon or loyalty where they provide 50% off or half price which would also include Buy 1 coffee and get the next free(because you already brought 8 before on the coffee shops loyalty card) the money into the find would then be payed so really depending how much money thats in the fund the shops getting the money for the coffee.

and also because your using there card/payment network if someone goes wrong any you loose your money either apple or the bank provider would have to pay you back the money thats why there is a fee(like MC, visa, Amex) also apple may have to raise and take 2% instead.

also seeing that itunes takes 30% of app purchases maybe seeing most US cashback cards incude 1% everywhere they could do something like
1% of the transaction price would go into itunes credit so lets say you buy something for $1, the next time you buy something on itunes for 99c you would save 1%.

maybe they could up that to 5% seeing apple sells itunes gift cards at so they dont always take 30%.

they could also have bonus tunes 'cashback' when redeeming a coupon or loyalty cards.

Now like i said i think is important to atleast provide another payment network(like MC and citbank).

 

[Small White Car]

Apple already brags about how many people have iTunes accounts with a credit card on file. They know that's an asset.

So you're not wrong, this is a power they could try to expand in the future. So maybe you could go into Starbucks and pay with Visa, MasterCard, or iTunes in the future?

That being said, I don't know if there's a huge advantage to making an iTunes account a credit card in and of itself. I think that, much like how the iPhone rests on top of AT&T or Verizon or whatever....having iTunes rest on top of Visa and MasterCard makes sense for Apple.

So, yes, I see Apple trying to expand the iTunes account into more real-world purchases. But no, I don't see them taking over completely and trying to be their own credit systems unattached to the rest of the financial system.

 

[b166er]

If/when Apple implements NFC, I expect them to do it under their own brand. Most of their flagship features over the past couple years have been around way before they started doing it, but they gave it a gimmicky name. Facetime, iMessage, Eyes Free (that one makes me grind my teeth).

I just hope it's compatible with existing hardware already in place at merchants. But I won't hold my breathe.

 

[reputationZed]

Apple has a less then stellar record as a service provider. As good as they are with hardware, software, and media distribution they still just don't seem to be able to get their heads around services. No one is going to trust you with their money when you can't even get maps right. I'd also question why Apple would want to move into the market as they do not seem to have much interest in NFC to begin with. My guess is Apple is going to play wait and see with NFC and its highly unlikely they would take the lead as you suggest. I just don't see apple going NFC until of if it goes maistreme.