Apple might be late to the party with online payments

[TeraSC2]

There is a lot of hype about iPhone 6 allowing its users to purchase goods without cash or even a credit card. Wired, Re\Code, Financial Times and some independent bloggers like John Gruber state that new Apple flagship is going to feature Near Field Communication technology, which is incremental for online payments.

 

Tim Cook and his team work with American Express and Visa on creating a way to turn iPhone into a credit card. New A8 chips contain secure coprocessor ensuring safe communication between Touch ID sensor and payment terminals. All user will need to make a purchase is an iTunes account with eligible bank credentials.

 

Apple is a fond of creating and innovation, the company loves new ideas and unique solutions? But in this case it could be late. Alipay, third-party payment system in China is collaborating with Huawei in attempt to create service, allowing cellphone users to make online payments using fingerprints as verification.

 

Here is what China Daily say on this matter:

The cutting-edge service will be applied on Huawei's flagship Ascend Mate 7, which is installed with a fingerprint sensor and is expected to debut in Berlin on Thursday.

 

Users can make payments or transfer money through Alipay Wallet, a mobile application of Alipay, part of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.

 

The security of users is protected by a specific technology that prevents third-party applications from being able to read the fingerprints, said Li Xiaolong, a senior Huawei executive in charge of the mobile phone business.

 

As an Apple person, I am excited about the efforts of the company, but still, now the idea of using iPhone instead of wallet feels not so special. Perhaps has it just lost the gloss that brings each new Apple toy, just because someone else already made it.

 

[Anibal P]

Been able to do that on Android devices for a while now, even in my city there are quite a few places with terminals that accept Google Wallet or ISIS payments, Apple is WAY late to the party there 

[Melfster]

Been able to do that on Android devices for a while now, even in my city there are quite a few places with terminals that accept Google Wallet or ISIS payments, Apple is WAY late to the party there 

 

 

They are not late to the party because the party hasn't started.  Lets wait until the Sept 9 th. to start critising the product.  Frankly I have enrolled Google Wallet for a long time before even android was available and I can tell you it is rarely used anywhere. 

[.Neo]

In the end it isn't about who did it first. It it's about the right moment and getting support from other players.

 

In the Netherlands mobile payment through NFC is only now gaining momentum because banks are distributing NFC enabled cards. So even if you had a phone that supports NFC a year ago, you couldn't have used the feature much. If at all.

[Mr.XXIV]

As an individual phone, companies will go with what has one of the biggest markets. But it's definitely not about who did it first.  ?\_(?)_/?

[benthebear]

Until NFC picks up steam, I still find it a bit of a waste, and pointless to be shouting, "FIRST!" when people talk of their own phones. I can buy a coke from a machine with NFC payments, or use it to purchase a meal from McDonald's and that's...that's basically it. Walgreens has recently started upgrading their stores to support it, and the mobile carriers just recently started their push with ISIS. Support for it maybe better in other places, but judging by the slow roll out, and from the data I've seen, Apple maybe finally including NFC a few years after everyone else, but they're still at the front of the push to make it more common.

[.Neo]

Here's an interesting article regarding the subject and why Apple hold off with NFC.

 

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702304830704577493261395358658