Apple has long been rumored to be working on its own payment service to turn your iPhone into a wallet, and 9to5Mac’s latest report backs up these rumors. According to its sources, Apple has been in talks about a mobile payments service with “high-profile retail brands” that sell “luxury clothing and premium goods.”
The details are sparse, but 9to5Mac was able to learn that the service would be integrated with iTunes accounts and would allow customers to make purchases at retail stores using their iPhones.
This makes sense. Apple has more than 800 million iTunes accounts, has been experimenting with iBeacons in its retail stores, and CEO Tim Cook all but confirmed in February that Apple is working on a mobile payments system for the iPhone.
The talks with the retail brands are reportedly only exploratory at this point, so don’t hold your breath for a payments service to be announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference next week.
9to5Mac’s source requested that the companies not be named, but it’s worth noting that Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts was previously the CEO of Burberry, a “high profile retail brand” that sells “luxury clothing and premium goods.”
Ahrendts also reportedly wants to revamp mobile payments in Apple’s own retail stores, the report said.
