Last week, Patently Apple announced Apple’s latest patent acquisition, pertaining to the 20+ series of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology patents in the last few years. More commonly referred to in the Apple realm as “iWallet,” NFC essentially allows consumers to pay at shops, restaurants, and more using their iPhones.
Playing into the trend of money becoming based more and more on electronics rather than physical measures, iWallet provides instant transactions between bank accounts or credit cards and a store.
iWallet’s patent comes ingrained with some useful characteristics, such as the limitations between primary and subsidiary financial accounts. Essentially, the product is built with the opportunity for one user to control the funds of another user by inputting an allowance into a mutual account. For instance, an employer can use iWallet to set up an account for his employee and set a petty cash limit, preventing the employee from overspending. A parent can do the same with their child, ensuring the child only spends the pre-approved amount.
iWallet is due to arrive alongside the iPhone 5, currently speculated to be on the market this fall. Of course, the road to success is littered with competition, all of which Apple has a few advantages over.
First, Apple’s NFC technology will be extremely easy to implement in everyday life, as iWallet will be powered by way of iTunes. Apple has accumulated over 200 million credit cards through the iTunes store, giving the Cupertino-based company a starting consumer base far larger than what Google’s NFC application can claim. Secondly, once iWallet is included as a feature of the iPhone, users simply swipe their phone in front of a NFC card reader to pay at retailers--iWallet seamlessly takes care of the rest. Cash, checks, plastic, and even PayPal aren’t this convenient. Third, in keeping with Apple tradition, iWallet will be extremely user friendly. There’s a clean layout beginning with the homepage, where consumers can set preferences, add credit cards, and view bank statements.
Though still in its infancy, adversary Google Wallet has already received criticism. Early reviews contain complaints about awkward extra steps, including unlocking the Android phone screen and entering a PIN to turn on the app before purchasing, causing consumers to fumble at the checkout line rather than gliding straight through. Additionally, the app doesn’t accept all major bank cards--just Mastercard for now (though Google has announced plans to incorporate Visa, AmEx, and others). This forced users to add funds to a pre-paid card accessible via Android, up until February when Google reportedly disabled the card for security reasons. And even when all else goes smoothly during a Google Wallet checkout, customers still receive a paper receipt. So while Google Wallet aims to eliminate the need for customers to carry around a bulky wallet filled with change and papers, in fact, Google does nothing to solve the problem of receipt organization, forcing users to still stuff pockets with information that would ideally be digitally stored.
With the knowledge of Google’s critiques fresh in its mind, Apple sets out to perfect NFC technology with iWallet. Moreover, as Apple already has a head start on its user base, even though the product hasn’t been released yet, it will be no surprise if iWallet drives NFC technology mainstream within weeks of the iPhone 5’s arrival. When the new phone and app roll out this fall, we’ll certainly be the first to let you know the successes and pitfalls—and if this is the app that finally pushes consumerism digital.
