iTunes - the payment system of the future?
Yesterday I went to the German Apple Store to buy a couple of small gifts. When I stood near the shop window and turned the covers for the iPhone in my hands, a pretty saleswoman crept up to me and asked if she could help with something. I replied that I wanted to buy these two covers in the hole. The girl said that if I have an iPhone, then I can pay through the Apple Store application, even without going to the checkout. To do this, she helped me install the same application, take a picture of the bar codes with the EasyPay feature and confirm the payment with my Apple ID. After that, she stuck on my purchases sticker "Vielen Dank" and said that everything was ready. She also added that in the future I can make purchases in the same way even without the participation of the seller (by the way, I will need to try).
In fact, this means that Apple is testing the payment for goods and services using an iPhone . And it is not necessary that this will work only in apple stores. When the technology is tested, nothing will prevent it from being introduced into any other retail or online retail chain. Let's see why this scenario looks plausible.
On December 6, Apple rolled out iBeacon technology in all 254 US retail stores. With its help, the visitor will be able to receive notifications to his device, depending on where in the store he is. Audio guides in museums work according to a similar principle, however, in terms of technology, they are hopelessly behind. iBeacon uses Bluetooth with low power consumption (Bluetooth 4.0), which all Apple devices are equipped with, starting with iPhone 4S and iPad 3. Using iBeacon, you can send information about prices and discounts on nearby products, notifications about future workshops, links to customer reviews and so on ... In return, the store will receive not only sales growth, but also the most valuable data on customer behavior - at which stands they stop more often, how much time is spent in the store, etc. ... And most likely, in 2014 Apple will open the API iBeacon for all developers, which means the technology we see everywhere. However, there is already a living example of this - the application “MLB.com At the Ballpark” , which uses iBeacon to navigate the stadium. Indoors, this solution looks much more attractive than inaccurate and disappearing GPS.
')
Another indirect sign that Apple is aiming at the electronic payment market is its fight against bitcoin. For example, on November 15, the Coinbase application was removed from the App Store, as were several others. The formal reason for this was paragraph 22.1 of the Apple directive on the review of applications (the application must comply with the legal requirements of all countries where it is available ), but there are no laws prohibiting bitcoin yet. China does not count - there is even Facebook banned, but Apple did not think to remove it from the App Store? Of course not. The conclusion is obvious - the company's bitcoin is unprofitable. "Stay away from the iPhone" - as they say in Cupertino. And I see a logical explanation for this: the market of electronic payments is too tidbit to put it into the hands of cryptocurrencies.
Although there is another fact that is worth mentioning. Like all corporations, Apple holds its assets in dollars (all 150 billion). Obviously, the development of Bitcoin endangers the dollar itself, and therefore the company's business. However, this applies not only to Apple. I would not be surprised if Google or Microsoft will do the same tomorrow.
The last fact in favor of iPhones as wallets for paying for purchases is 575 million active iTunes accounts according to data for June. And their number is growing rapidly. Among the entire Internet, it is generally the largest database of accounts tied to credit cards. If (when) Apple decides to go outside the store with it, then 110 million PayPal accounts will look quite ridiculous. And given the huge base of devices, a high level of user confidence and promising TouchID technology, Apple has all the prerequisites for this step. The only question is when this will happen.
Apparently, in a couple of years it will be possible not to take along a wallet with money and credit cards. The only and most convenient wallet will be an iPhone, and the most popular payment system is iTunes.
In fact, this means that Apple is testing the payment for goods and services using an iPhone . And it is not necessary that this will work only in apple stores. When the technology is tested, nothing will prevent it from being introduced into any other retail or online retail chain. Let's see why this scenario looks plausible.
On December 6, Apple rolled out iBeacon technology in all 254 US retail stores. With its help, the visitor will be able to receive notifications to his device, depending on where in the store he is. Audio guides in museums work according to a similar principle, however, in terms of technology, they are hopelessly behind. iBeacon uses Bluetooth with low power consumption (Bluetooth 4.0), which all Apple devices are equipped with, starting with iPhone 4S and iPad 3. Using iBeacon, you can send information about prices and discounts on nearby products, notifications about future workshops, links to customer reviews and so on ... In return, the store will receive not only sales growth, but also the most valuable data on customer behavior - at which stands they stop more often, how much time is spent in the store, etc. ... And most likely, in 2014 Apple will open the API iBeacon for all developers, which means the technology we see everywhere. However, there is already a living example of this - the application “MLB.com At the Ballpark” , which uses iBeacon to navigate the stadium. Indoors, this solution looks much more attractive than inaccurate and disappearing GPS.
')
Another indirect sign that Apple is aiming at the electronic payment market is its fight against bitcoin. For example, on November 15, the Coinbase application was removed from the App Store, as were several others. The formal reason for this was paragraph 22.1 of the Apple directive on the review of applications (the application must comply with the legal requirements of all countries where it is available ), but there are no laws prohibiting bitcoin yet. China does not count - there is even Facebook banned, but Apple did not think to remove it from the App Store? Of course not. The conclusion is obvious - the company's bitcoin is unprofitable. "Stay away from the iPhone" - as they say in Cupertino. And I see a logical explanation for this: the market of electronic payments is too tidbit to put it into the hands of cryptocurrencies.
Although there is another fact that is worth mentioning. Like all corporations, Apple holds its assets in dollars (all 150 billion). Obviously, the development of Bitcoin endangers the dollar itself, and therefore the company's business. However, this applies not only to Apple. I would not be surprised if Google or Microsoft will do the same tomorrow.
The last fact in favor of iPhones as wallets for paying for purchases is 575 million active iTunes accounts according to data for June. And their number is growing rapidly. Among the entire Internet, it is generally the largest database of accounts tied to credit cards. If (when) Apple decides to go outside the store with it, then 110 million PayPal accounts will look quite ridiculous. And given the huge base of devices, a high level of user confidence and promising TouchID technology, Apple has all the prerequisites for this step. The only question is when this will happen.
Apparently, in a couple of years it will be possible not to take along a wallet with money and credit cards. The only and most convenient wallet will be an iPhone, and the most popular payment system is iTunes.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/207118/
All Articles