Apple iWallet Patent

This could eventually become big news.

On January 16, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a secure iWallet system that goes beyond NFC to include new Air Interfaces including a form of Bluetooth, such as iBeacon. 

The entire story can be read at Patently Apple:

http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2014/01/apple-patent-reveals-secure-iwallet-system-with-ibeacon.html

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE**
The news continues to come out regarding Apple and a possible foray in to payments.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2429943,00.asp

This has been followed by articles that elaborate a bit such as this one:
http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/4487

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Having been for years at the center of speculation on the matter, Apple Inc. may finally be readying a foray into mobile payments, according to news reports over the weekend.

...

Finally, for a move into physical stores, Apple could rely on iBeacon, a Bluetooth low-energy technology that detects mobile devices in proximity and links them to store point-of-sale systems for quick checkouts.

”The physical merchant ecosystem isn’t quite ready for this sort of service, so I think it’s a bit further down the road, but the promulgation of mobile POS systems or potential partnerships with major [financial institutions], payment networks, MCX, or large merchants could be accelerants to make this happen sooner,” Oglesby notes. MCX is Merchant Customer Exchange, a Dallas-based mobile-payments venture controlled by big-box retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Best Buy Co Inc., and CVS/pharmacy.

**UPDATE #2**
Another good reading from Karen Webster:
http://www.pymnts.com/briefing-room/mobile/playmakers/2014/as-the-mobile-payments-world-turns