Tech

Apple Has Come Up With An Idea Its Execs Think Will Revolutionize Commerce

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Steve Ambrose Contributor
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After entering the smartwatch and automotive markets, Apple is ready to break into another industry: the financial service.

Apple is negotiating with financial institutions to develop a mobile, person-to-person, phone-based payment service, The Wall Street Journal reported. Sources told WSJ that banks like Bancorp, Capital One, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo have all spoken with Apple regarding the creation of the digital service. (RELATED: Apple Co-Founder’s Allies Tried To Kill The Steve Jobs Movie)

“I don’t think it’s surprising that Apple would go down this route of trying to create its own peer-to-peer or person-to-person payment service,” eMarketer analyst Bryan Yeager said to USA Today.

Person-to-person (peer-to-peer) payment services work by allowing an individual to send money—from their checking or credit account—directly to another user through a phone app. Typically, all that is needed is a phone number or email address of the recipient to complete the transaction. (RELATED: Get Ready: Apple’s Siri About To Become Much More Realistic And Human-Like)

Some of the more popular mobile money sharing companies include: PayPal, Venmo, Google Wallet, Dwolla, and Square Cash.

A Paypal spokesman told WSJ that they “welcome any development that encourages people to address the awkwardness of dealing with cash when paying friends or family back.”

Apple was granted a U.S. patent in July for an encrypted, peer-to-peer payment system using wireless electronic devices. The WSJ states that the project could begin in 2016. (RELATED: Apple Electric ‘Car’ Exposed)

Apple already has a payment system known as Apple Pay, which allows users to make commercial transactions without touching a credit card or handing money over to a cashier. With Apple Pay, after you add credit or debit card details to the app, a “unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted, and securely stored,” on the device. This allows the Device Number to act as a substitute for your card when making purchases. Apple says credit card information is “never shared…with merchants or transmitted with payment.” (RELATED: Shots Fired: Elon Musk Claims Apple Hires Rejected And Fired Tesla Engineers)

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