NFC

CVS follows Rite Aid’s lead and shuts down Apple Pay

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

CVS appears to be following Rite Aid's stupidity, according to MacRumors, and has instructed its individual stores to shut down NFC access on its terminals, rendering Apple Pay unusable during checkout. The problem with this decision is that it not only shuts down Apple Pay, but any other contactless payment technology such as Google Wallet.

These stores have been able to accept contactless payment for who knows how long, but now that Apple Pay has brought needed relevance to the space, companies are beginning to draw lines in the sand...

How to use Apple Pay

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

As expected, Apple rolled out Apple Pay to the masses today, courtesy of its iOS 8.1 update for eligible devices. Apple Pay, as you know, allows users to make in-app and online purchases using certain devices equipped with a Touch ID sensor, and in-store purchases using the NFC chips found in the recently released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of setting up Apple Pay, including adding eligible credit cards, along with making in-app, and in-store purchases.

The reports of retailers not supporting Apple Pay have been greatly exaggerated

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

With Apple Pay set to launch later this month with support from big retailers such as Macy's, Staples, Disney Store, and many more, there has been some drama building regarding the fact that Apple still has a lot of work to do to convince some big names to get on the Apple Pay bandwagon.

A post on the Daily Dot today exemplifies this, claiming that Pizza Hut, Chipotle, and H&M, Coach, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Sears, Kmart, BP, Starbucks, and more don't plan on offering support for Apple Pay.

This sure makes for great headlines, but this kind of post usually fails to omit that retailers aren't against Apple Pay, they're just not on board with updating their costly point of sale systems.

More Apple Pay details leak after iOS 8.1 beta 2 release

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Earlier today, Apple released iOS 8.1 beta 2. Like the previous beta release, it was quickly inspected by UK developer Hamza Sood, best known around these parts for his contributions to the jailbreak community.

With iOS 8.1 beta 1, Sood revealed details regarding Apple Pay's presence in the stock Settings app. This time around, we get our first glimpse of the Passbook setup screens, and credit card data entry screen.

Apple won’t open iPhone 6 NFC features to developers for at least a year

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

The NFC chip found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will only work with Apple Pay and won't be opened up to developers who make third-party apps, Apple confirmed on Monday.

The pair of smartphones, due to be released Friday after a record amount of pre-orders, are the first devices from Apple to feature NFC technology. Like Touch ID on the iPhone 5s, Apple is keeping a lock on the technology presumably for security purposes.

Apple and Disney upgrading in-store iBeacon/NFC ahead of iPhone 6 launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Here's another piece of evidence to help complete the Apple mobile payments puzzle: according to a new report by 9to5Mac, Apple and Disney stores in the United States have been upgrading in-store iBeacon transmitters and NFC sensors ahead of the company's big reveal on Tuesday.

The upgraded sensors, which include the new Gimbal Series 20 Proximity Beacons, will allow the companies to track customers inside their stores with an even greater degree of precision.

As it's been widely reported, both the iPhone 6 and iWatch are rumored to be outfitted with a Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip to support mobile payments. It's “one of the hallmark features” of the iPhone 6, according to Wired. The Apple wearable device has “a role in mobile payments,” too, as per The Wall Street Journal.

Apple has reportedly negotiated lower transaction fees for mobile payments

Cody Lee ∙ September 4, 2014

Bank Innovation shares some new details on Apple's mobile payments project this afternoon, reporting the company has managed to negotiate deals for lower credit card transaction fees with several banking institutions. This includes JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Capital One, and Bank of America.

Citing sources familiar with the negotiations, the site says that the banks have all agreed to give Apple a flat transaction rate for both in-store and online purchases, which is fairly uncommon in the industry. They will also apparently give the Cupertino firm a 10% discount on all of its processing fees.

WSJ: NFC-enabled iWatch has ‘a role in mobile payments’, features curved OLED screen

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Adding up to the ongoing conversation about Apple's purported wearable project dubbed by the media the 'iWatch', The Wall Street Journal affirmed Thursday that the fashionable gizmo will connect to the upcoming iPhone 6 via NFC and come in two sizes to appeal to both gender’s preferences.

NFC stands for Near-Field Communication, which is a short-range wireless technology required for the handset's rumored mobile payment functionality.

In their write-up behind the paywall, reporters Lorrraine Luk, Daisuke Wakabayashi and Greg Bensinger quote people familiar with the matter as saying that both iWatch sizes feature a curved organic light-emitting diode screen, or OLED.

There will be sensors to track and monitor health and fitness data, as expected. According to the Journal, Apple's use of NFC technology on the iWatch signals that it “sees a role for the device in digital payments”.

Leaked photos of iPhone 6 logic board with NFC chip appear

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Sonny Dickson, known for his accurate leaks of iPhone and iPad parts, is back to fluster faces at Apple today with newly released images of the logic board from an iPhone 6, complete with an NFC chip made by NXP, as previously reported. Courtesy of Feld&Volk, the leaked photos show several additional chips on the iPhone 6's logic board besides NFC, including the AVAGO chip and Apple's A8 processor, which is supposed to be 2.0 GHz, quite a bit faster than the 1.3GHz A7 chip.

Apple reportedly working with NXP on NFC solution for iPhone 6

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

The Financial Times is reporting this morning that Apple has tapped Dutch chipmaker NXP to produce NFC chips for the upcoming iPhone 6. Citing several people familiar with the project, the site claims the secure, short-range wireless technology will facilitate transactions in a new mobile payment service.

The report doesn't add much in the way of new details, but it does corroborate with the ongoing consensus that after shunning the technology for several years, Apple has finally decided to add NFC to its handsets. Wired and Recode had similar scoops yesterday, as did well-connected blogger John Gruber.

Wired: iPhone will have NFC chip and feature its own payment platform

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 28, 2014

According to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Wired, the rumors were in fact true as the next iPhone is reportedly going to have a Near-Field Communication (NFC) circuitry and feature an Apple-branded payment platform.

Apple's contactless mobile payment solution is being described in the report as "one of the hallmark features" of the iPhone 6 when the device is unveiled on September 9 (alongside a rumored Apple wearable device).

"We’re told the solution will involve NFC," reads the report.

For what it's worth, the reliable John Paczkowski of Re/code has “been hearing the same” about the NFC-enabled iPhone 6.

Recent leaks of purported iPhone 6 components have indicated that the forthcoming smartphone could indeed be outfitted with an NFC chip by a semiconductor company called NXP, which currently supplies the M7 motion coprocessor for the latest iOS devices.

Leaked iPhone 6 logic board has likely place for NFC chip

Jake Smith ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

There have been rumors swirling for years that Apple will finally bring NFC to the iPhone, and if the schematics of a leak from last week hold true, the iPhone 6 may be the first to hold the communications technology. A MacRumors forum member examined bare logic boards claimed to ship with the iPhone 6, and have found leaked NFC chips fit perfectly.