Apple wants iPhone to pay for train fares, access secure locations
Reportedly, Apple Pay is only the beginning for the company’s NFC aspirations
Most of us are already attached at the hip to our smartphones, so why not make them ever more useful in our daily lives? Apple seems intent on doing so by expanding use of near-field communication (NFC) to do more and more things.
NFC was just introduced to the latest iPhone and iPad models to facilitate the launch of Apple Pay, which allows users to charge a credit card or account by placing the device near a payment terminal, and Apple is currently rolling the feature out to more and more places around the world.
But a report from The Information says that’s only the start of what Apple has planned in this arena. The company has reportedly had discussions with HID Global and Cubic, which handle access and payment systems for secure buildings and transit lines.
So instead of just using your iPhone to pay for coffee, you might soon be using it to easily board the train or access your office building. Apple declined comment to Gizmodo on the subject, and there’s no other word on when we might see such intentions manifest themselves.
For now, Apple is facing some hurdles getting retailers to play friendly with Apple Pay. While many consumers have reported easy, positive results using the system at shops, notable U.S. pharmacy/convenience stores like CVS and Rite Aid have opted to disable NFC support in recent days.
That’s because those chains and others are part of a retail consortium trying to launch its own QR-code app-based payment model called CurrentC, which makes them more money. Of course, the result is that consumers then have less options, and that plan could well backfire in time.
[Source: The Information via Gizmodo]
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Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
