Apple is rumoured to be in discussions with banks to set up a new money transfer app that would put it in direct competition with PayPal. The application would reportedly allow iPhone users to transfer money via text, the Wall Street Journal said.
Apple this year released its Wallet feature, which combines payments with loyalty cards and tickets for events and air travel. The product is part of the company's strategy of adding services to encourage people to buy new iPhones every few years. The service would allow users to transfer funds from their checking accounts through Apple devices. The service would likely be linked to the company's Apple Pay system, which allows customers to make credit-card and debit-card payments with their mobile phones.
Peer to peer payment apps are seen as a convenient way to repay individuals digitally rather than in cash. Apple launched Apple Pay in the US last year and in the UK earlier this year. It allows users to make payments at certain stores via a tap of their iPhones. This latest step would allow users to transfer money, not just make payments.
A move into peer-to-peer payments could help Apple to find an audience more immediately. And if there's one thing we know about Apple, it's that the company isn't always first to innovate, but it tends to blow the competition away.
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