iPhone Users May Soon Be Able To Accept Credit Cards Without Any Additional Hardware

Apple Inc AAPL is reportedly working on integrating credit card acceptance directly into the iPhone.

What Happened: The Tim Cook-led company has been working on a service that will allow its iPhone users to accept credit cards directly through their devices negating the need for extra hardware, Bloomberg reported — citing people familiar with the matter.

Apple has been working on the feature since 2020 after it acquired Mobeewave, a Canadian startup which developed technology that enables smartphones to accept credit cards without using near field communications (NFC), according to the report.

The credit card acceptance service could be rolled out in the coming months through a software update. The feature is expected in the first beta of iOS15.4, expected to release in the spring, according to Bloomberg’s sources.

There is no clarity if the credit card feature will be operated under the Apple Pay umbrella. The team from Mobeewave has reportedly been working under Apple’s payment division.

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Why It Matters: In order to accept payments, users have to either use a plug-in device or a Bluetooth terminal. Block Inc’s SQ Square device dominates the market for such hardware, noted Bloomberg.

Apple purchased Mobeewave in August 2020 for $100 million. A year prior to the acquisition, the startup allowed Samsung’s devices to use its technology. The Korean tech titan was also an investor in Mobeewave before Apple purchased it.

Price Action: On Wednesday, Apple shares closed mostly unchanged at $159.69 in the regular session and rose 0.5% in the after-hours trading. 

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