Apple’s P2P payment patent has a focus on security

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touchid
Touch ID could be a big part of Apple's supposed personal payment plan.
Photo: Apple

In a few years, “Sorry, I don’t have any cash on me” may no longer be a good enough excuse to give that chronically money-strapped friend when they come around asking to borrow a few bucks.

That’s because a newly released Apple patent suggests that the iPhone maker may be getting into the person-to-person payment game in future versions of its hardware.

The application describes a method of transferring money between two users, and what really stands out is how often mentions of security arise. Forms of the word “encrypt” appear 157 times throughout the document, while “secure” and “security” have a combined 216 instances. It also mentions “biometric” sensors like the iPhone’s Touch ID and expands this to include retinal scanners and palm sensors because why not?

This language is not necessarily a reflection of Apple’s staunch public stance on user privacy, however. Any technology that uses personal and financial information had better keep its encryption game strong both because it’s better for customers and because people are really paying attention to that stuff these days.

Apple Pay, the company’s current touchless payment method, also uses Touch ID to authorize payments on the latest iPhone models, the 6 and 6 Plus. This patent doesn’t guarantee anything, but if Apple goes ahead with integrating person-to-person payments in future hardware like the upcoming iPhone 6s, it would be pulling a move similar to its recently released Apple Music streaming platform by trying to replace features of third-party apps with its own native solutions.

Snapchat and Facebook already include options to let users send money back and forth. Apple’s entry into this space would continue its quest to replace your wallet with its own onboard Passbook utility (which will be reborn as Wallet when iOS 9 launches this fall).

Source: USPTO Via: International Business Times

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