A new iPhone, the sixth iteration of Apple’s smartphone, could finally usher in the age when consumers wave their mobile phone at the till to pay for an item when it appears next week.
Rumours are that the iPhone 6 and the company’s first smartwatch will include a chip that processes short-range wireless payments using similar technology to the Oyster card.
The use of “near-field communication” (NFC) would allow a phone and a smartwatch to interact and would also open the door to a broader “wave and pay” style of mobile phone payments.
Apple’s new iPhone is expected to feature a tougher sapphire display, meaning fewer shattered screens. It is also expected to be a thinner model to compete with the “phablets” of its rivals.
Paying for low-value goods, including cups of coffee, food from vending machines or a small amount of groceries with a smartphone has been commonplace in the Far East for more than a decade, with consumers in Japan and South Korea much less reliant on their credit and debit cards, or loose change, than their counterparts in the west.
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Samsung, Google and Nokia, have tried to market NFC-based phones in the past, but consumers have proved reluctant. However, the iPhone 6 could usher in a change in “m-commerce”.
Ben Wood, an analyst with CCS Insight, said: “This could be the tipping point for the mobile wallet.”