Peer to peer payment

Two 'Peer to peer payment' stories July 2015 - November 2015

Apple considering using iMessage for its person-to-person Apple Pay service – report

A Quartz report citing banking sources says that Apple is considering the use of iMessage to handle its expected person-to-person service to complement Apple Pay.

One way Apple might add money transfer services to iOS is through iMessage, the proprietary messaging service, according to people who have discussed the program with Apple. It’s already one of the most used default apps on iPhones and is especially popular with the younger crowd.

Apple is reported to be in talks with banks to agree terms for the service. It’s believed that Apple wants banks to act as the payment processors so that it can steer clear of the murky world of financial regulation, leaving it to do what it does best: the front-end.

iMessage already uses strong end-to-end encryption, something that has led to disputes between Apple and various governments.

Apple applies for patent for person-to-person payments, secured by Touch ID

When I suggested that Apple could in the future move beyond Apple Pay to become a bank, a couple of you observed that person-to-person payments might make a logical next step in that direction. It appears Apple may agree: Patently Apple notes that the company today applied for a patent for a method of transferring money from one iPhone to another.

Using electronic devices (such as cellular telephones) that communicate wirelessly, two individuals can make person-to-person payments. In particular, an individual using an electronic device may identify another proximate electronic device of a counterparty in a financial transaction, and may provide an encrypted payment packet to the other electronic device that includes: a financial credential for a financial account of the individual, a payment amount, and a payment sign.

The transaction would appear to take place in the Wallet app, and Touch ID would be used to authorize both ends of the transaction.

The user interface may display a prompt to the user to provide authentication information (such as ‘please touch the fingerprint sensor’).

Payments would be credited to a choice of “payment vehicles,” read: bank accounts and cards that can accept transfers from third-parties. The patent of course notes that all data transmitted between both the iPhones and the payment processor would be encrypted.

Timothy Hurley, Senior Director of Apple Pay Engineering, is listed as one of the inventors.