San Francisco - Apple has struck agreements with credit card companies to make the next iPhone capable of making payments at retail outlets, news reports said on Sunday.
Apple is expected to announce the new version of the iPhone this month. It may also report agreements with Visa, MasterCard and American Express at the same time, Bloomberg news reported, quoting a person who asked not to be identified because talks between Apple and the credit card companies are private.
The payment system would turn the next version of the iPhone into a mobile wallet, Bloomberg said. It would make mobile payments easier by including a near-field communication chip.
That would combine with a fingerprint recognition reader that debuted on the most recent iPhone to allow consumers to securely pay with the touch of a finger when shopping at stores.
The technology website re/code reported earlier on Sunday that Apple had reached an agreement with American Express to work together on its new iPhone payments system. The site quoted sources familiar with the talks.
Apple has scheduled a media event on September 9, leading to speculation that it will the introduction of the new phone.
It might have a display much larger than on previous models. Re/code reported last month the next generation iPhones are expected to have displays of 12 centimetres and 14 centimetres.
The display of current iPhone models measure 10 centimetres diagonally. - Sapa-dpa