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iPhone payment

Four 'iPhone payment' stories September 2013 - April 2014
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Could Apple buy Square to accelerate its mobile payment plans?

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Apr 9 2014 - 5:55 am PT
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Re/code is reporting that both Apple and Google have considered making acquisition offers for payments company Square, with CEO Jack Dorsey said to favor a sale to Apple.

In the last year, both Apple and Google have considered making acquisition offers for Square, according to industry sources familiar with the situation […]

[Dorsey] believes, sources said, that his company’s design aesthetic and values match up much more closely with Apple than Google …


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Tim Cook as good as confirms mobile payment via Touch ID on the way

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jan 28 2014 - 5:03 am PT
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When Touch ID was first rumored, there had been much speculation about whether the iPhone 5s would act as an electronic wallet, with payments to retailers authorized by fingerprint. While that hasn’t yet happened, it does now seem clear that it’s on the way.

Asked about mobile payments during yesterday’s earnings call, CEO Tim Cook gave what is, in Apple terms, a surprisingly direct response.

The mobile payments area in general is one we’ve been intrigued with. It was one of the thoughts behind Touch ID […] it’s a big opportunity … 
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Apple keeps its options open with patent for iBeacon- & NFC-compatible secure payment system

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jan 16 2014 - 6:41 am PT
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While it seems likely that Apple is intending to eventually establish iBeacon as a wireless electronic wallet system, rather than the existing NFC system commonly used in parts of Europe and Asia, a patent filing published today incorporates both protocols. It also allows for other forms of Bluetooth payment.

The secure payment system Apple describes would work in much the same way as the chip-and-PIN cards which are well-established in Europe. Instead of transmitting your actual card details to the payment terminal, the card details are used to generate an encrypted code which is sent instead. The terminal is able to validate the code and identify the account without ever having access to the card details themselves.

As we always note with patent stories, Apple patents huge numbers of things, most of which never make it into products. But while Apple is adopting its usual wait-and-see policy where new technologies are concerned, the question of using iPhones for payment is almost certainly when and how rather than if.