Now that the NFC chip has been confirmed for the iPhone 6, voices have started murmuring about Apple’s foray into the mobile payments industry. At the same time, however, many are speculating about the future of existing plyers such as Square and PayPal, Intuit GoPayment, PayAnywhere and Authorize.net? Will they survive?
As it turns out, at least the two major operators, PayPal and Square, have already been briefed on Apple’s plans, and have adapted their strategy accordingly. Sources speaking with Bank Innovation reveal that both PayPal and Square will be included in Apple’s plan to enter the payments industry.
Both have their strengths, they say: Square stands out as an mPOS solution for small businesses, with Paypal as the mobile payment processor. According to these sources, both companies will update their apps to work with Apple’s iWallet (or whatever the name of its payment platform will be).
Sources couldn’t reach a consensus as to whether Square’s new terminals will incorporate the new BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) standard or NFC, but they did agree on Square’s effort to comply with Apple’s new payments platform.
PayPal, on the other hand, has an already working checkout system both online and on mobile, and the payment processor could help Apple add a “buy” button to iOS 8 — you may recall earlier rumours about PayPal helping Apple to develop its payment platform.
The devil is in the details, and we are going to find out shortly, as the Apple event will get underway in less than an hour.
