NFC/mobile payment questions

[luv2liv]

seeing how apple is now also adopting NFC, who will benefit from this?
i can only see Android folks reaping apple's push since none of the iphones before 6 have NFC.
also is it possible Apple lock down the terminal so only iphones 6, and greater, can be used at checkout?

 

[Ravynmagi]

Maybe the iPhone will help with adoption. But I still think it's going to be a pretty slow process and we might see a few more iPhones before mobile payments is a normal thing for most of us.

 

[s44]

also is it possible Apple lock down the terminal so only iphones 6, and greater, can be used at checkout?

That's not how NFC works. Pay terminals are designed to read the little RFID chips in tap n pay credit cards, and NFC phones just piggy back on that. Unless Apple literally buys Visa/MC, they have no control over the protocol.

 

[soccerballtux]

supposedly MC/Visa supposed to have NFC terminals replacing everything by 2015, but they've been so slow, doubt it, but also now iPhone, maybe kick them deploy faster

 

[sm625]

Unless Apple can replace Visa/MC as the intermediary, and collect that coveted 2% fee in their place, then there is no reason for them to take it seriously.

 

[luv2liv]

thanks for the clarifications.

 

[dawheat]

Unless Apple can replace Visa/MC as the intermediary, and collect that coveted 2% fee in their place, then there is no reason for them to take it seriously.

The bulk of the interchange fee collected by Visa/MC actually goes to the card issuer at the end of the day - it's what funds all those reward programs and such.

I believe Apple is eating some of the interchange - though no ones know the split of whether it comes from the card issuer portion or the network portion.

 

[s44]

So there was a story about the carriers bringing Terrorist Wallet to the iPhones.

You know what that means, though... Google Wallet on iOS!

LOL

 

[Mopetar]

Unless Apple can replace Visa/MC as the intermediary, and collect that coveted 2% fee in their place, then there is no reason for them to take it seriously.

The scary thing is that they probably could to some degree. They probably wouldn't replace the cards themselves, but I could see them eventually setting up something similar to PayPal where they operate as some kind of quasi-bank.

I haven't thought about it enough to determine whether that would be a good thing or a really bad thing as there are probably some arguments from both categories.

 

[KeithP]

i can only see Android folks reaping apple's push since none of the iphones before 6 have NFC.

Just an FYI, not that it matters much for the discussion at hand, if an iPhone 5/5s/5c user buys an Apple Watch, they can also use Apple Pay.

-KeithP