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Apple Teaming Up with Visa, MasterCard on iPhone wallet
 
By:
Thu, 4 Sep 2014   ||   Nigeria,
 

Apple Incorporated plans to turn its next iPhone into a mobile wallet through a partnership with major payment networks, banks and retailers, according a person familiar with the situation.

The agreement includes Visa Incorporated, MasterCard Incorporated and American Express Co. and will be unveiled on September 9 along with the next iPhone, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

The new iPhone will make mobile payments easier by including a near-field communication chip for the first time, the person said.

That advancement along with Touch ID, a fingerprint recognition reader that debuted on the most recent iPhone, will allow consumers to securely pay for items in a store with the touch of a finger.

While companies such as Google Incorporated have invested in creating ways for phones to make payments in a physical store, US retailers have been slow to adopt the technology, thus limiting the use by shoppers, according to Ben Bajarin, an analyst for Creative Strategies LLC in San Jose, California.

That could change with Apple entering the market because iPhones have the largest market share in the US, he said.

“Love it or hate, Apple drives a lot of standards in the industry,” Bajarin said. “They are the mover in these markets. When they do something, the industry seems to follow.”

Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment, as did Jim Issokson, a spokesman for MasterCard, and Mike O’Neill, a spokesman for American Express.

Representatives from Visa didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The talks between Apple and Visa about the technology were reported by Thelnformation.com in July, citing unidentified people who had been briefed on the matter.

For Apple, the push into creating a mobile wallet is to keep users within its ecosystem, thus creating more loyalty to its brand and demand for its products, Bajarin said.

“It’s about retention, solving and adding features that keep your base engaged and keeping them loyal,” Bajarin said.

Apple’s move is also about generating more revenue from the roughly 800 million global iTunes accounts, which include payment information, that have already been created, said Richard Crone, chief executive officer of Crone Consulting LLC, which advises retailers and banks on mobile-payment solutions.

 

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