Apple is working on a mobile payments solution, as per numerous reports from PCM, but also mainstream news like The Wall Street Journal. Exactly how the company plans to implement such a payment service is still unknown.
Current Apple boss, Tim Cook, has insinuated that Touch ID was created with mobile
Apple is rumoured to be working on a mobile payments solution
payments in mind, which makes sense when you consider that it’s such a secure (ish) form of authentication.
A new concept called EasyPay takes the Apple approach to mobile payments on the iPhone, andis a possible insight into what Apple themselves may do.
Interface designer and app developer Ricardo Del Toro recently shared his ideas behind EasyPay on Dribble. Here’s part of what he had to say:
“Ideally, developers would incorporate this system into their apps and enable people to buy physical things, one example would be Amazon. In addition to iOS apps, this functionality could also be available on the web.
Keychain is a step in the right direction, but it could be a much better experience. At checkout, the card would slide up and when Touch ID recognizes the correct fingerprint, it would initiate the payment through the iTunes payment system.
The other possibility is retail. Implementing this type of experience in a retail environment is a more complex implementation. My idea for the experience of the transaction is this: walk into a coffee shop, or any retail environment and ask for the tab to be placed on EasyPay. EasyPay would send a notification to the iPhone in front of the counter using iBeacon technology and when Touch ID authorizes the payment, the iTunes payment system would direct the requested amount to the retail location.
The retail implementation is a fairly complex one with a lot of old infrastructure to consider. I believe the future of mobile is payments. There’s a lot of room for improvement in that area,” Del Toro concludes.
Apple has been reportedly talking to PayPal about some kind of partnership in this space, but details are, as to be expected, scarce. However Apple plans to implement its strategy will probably be pretty frictionless, like swiping a notification and authenticating with Touch ID. iBeacons would certainly make sense for this kind of activity too.
With 800 million credit cards on file through the iTunes Store, Apple has a very credible position to enter the mobile payments industry.
A mock-up of an Apple webpage for EasyPay:
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