iPhone 6 will finally make NFC payments a big deal

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The iPhone 6 is going to attempt to replace your wallet, according to a report from Wired, claiming Apple’s mobile payment system will debut as a major feature in the iPhone 6, and NFC is a key piece of the puzzle.

Apple’s mobile payments platform will take on Google Wallet, Square, and others this September by adding NFC and a secure element to store all your credit cards info on the iPhone 6, allowing users to make NFC payments with retailers with out having to fumble around with your cash or credit card.

Rumors of NFC’s inclusion in the iPhone have been a reoccurring theme of every iPhone rumor season since the iPhone 3GS. Apple has opted to use Bluetooth in previous iPhones instead, but the extra security protections of NFC may have made it too good not to use for the mobile payments system.

With over 800 million credit cards on file supplied by its iTunes clientele, Apple already has an enormous number of potential users who can jump into the system as soon as they get their fingers on the iPhone 6 and its beefier display. Taking a small cut on all those mobile payments could be a highly lucrative new business for Apple. Tim Cook has already hinted that Apple’s intrigued with mobile payments, and it was the main inspiration for Touch ID.

What Apple’s mobile payments system will actually look like is still unclear, though it’s likely to use a combination of features it laid the ground work with in 2013: iBeacons to locate devices at retail shops, Touch ID to verify identity, and NFC to transmit transaction data. Passbook could also come to play as well.

Apple is expected to reveal all the details at a media event on September 9th that will introduce the next generation models of the iPhone 6 that are rumored to feature sapphire displays, A8 processors, improved cameras. And we also might see the iWatch.

Source: Wired

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