iPhone 6 may include NFC technology [Report]

BrightWire reports that according to their sources Apple is planning to include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 6.

The report claims Apple has tied up with China UnionPay to integrate banking services into the Passbook app for mobile payments.

Apple is likely to incorporate a Near Field Communication(NFC) payment function in the next generation iPhone and has reached an agreement with China UnionPay on a mobile payment service, according to a source close to the matter.

Under the deal with China UnionPay, users would be able to download the bank card organization’s app to Passbook in their iPhones and make mobile payments on over 3 million China UnionPay’s “QuickPass” POS machines in China, the source said. 

It would come as a surprise if iPhone 6 came with NFC as two years back Apple’s Phil Schiller – Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing had explained why Apple’s iPhone does not come with NFC:

It’s not clear that NFC is the solution to any current problem, Schiller said. “Passbook does the kinds of things customers need today.”

But the possibility of iPhone 6 coming with NFC technology cannot be ruled out completely for the following reasons:

• Earlier in the year, Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was preparing infrastructure for the rollout of its long-rumored mobile payment service. The report claimed executives such as Eddy Cue, Apple’s VP of Internet Services, have been meeting with other industry leaders to discuss the possibility of Apple processing mobile payments for physical goods and services.

• A recent Apple patent application reveals how Apple may enable a mobile payment service using its iBeacon or NFC technology. The patent revealed how the phone could initiate a secure connection via Bluetooth or NFC to a point-of-service terminal that’ll process the payment. On the phone side of the equation, Apple has overs 400 million iTunes accounts that are tied to credit cards with one click payment authorization. Apple also has Passbook, an app that stores your discount coupons, boarding passes, movie tickets, and more. Apple has allowed Passbook to languish in iOS 7. Instead of a sign that it is sun setting this app, perhaps Apple is keeping Passbook waiting in the wings, while it builds something even better out of it.

• Apple CEO Tim Cook also stated during Apple’s Q1 2014 earnings conference call that the company has an interest in Touch ID-assisted mobile payments.

• KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi-Kuo who has a good track record when it comes to predicting Apple’s product plans based on his supply chain sources also expects iPhone 6 to include NFC technology.

I see people criticising Apple for not including NFC, but haven’t come across a compelling reason to include it. What has been your experience? Should Apple include NFC in iPhone 6?

[BrightWire via MacRumors]

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