skip to main content

2,634 shops listed | Last updated: Thursday, March 28, 2024

Monitor Add a site

Apple to enhance m-commerce payment security

Thursday, March 14, 2013 - 10:09 by Simon Crisp

Share on

Later this year it is expected that Apple will release yet another iPhone, with current predictions suggesting that it will land in the autumn. There are also those who think it could get a summer release, although that would disrupt the firm's annual update cycle.

The iPhone 5S will arguably be the most important Apple handset to launch since the original, back in 2007, because its dominance of the smartphone market has been dramatically eroded by Samsung in recent years and loyal fans are hoping to see something truly revolutionary.

One feature that the iPhone 5S is expected to bring to the table is NFC, which has been sorely missing from this family of devices, in spite of its growing availability on rival smartphones.

NFC is a type of wireless connectivity which allows users to interact with compatible kiosks when they are out and about. As well as allowing you to transfer data quickly between devices, NFC can be used to turn your mobile into a digital wallet, which in turn, lets you make payments at a variety of high street outlets.

Eventually, we will see NFC become a common format for carrying out shopping online, as it is expected to find its way into laptops, so that users can simply tap their smartphones on them to complete purchases.

China Times reports that the iPhone 5S will not only pack NFC, but will also come with a built in fingerprint scanner, which will make the use of the technology for payments much more secure.

Usually you can authorise a transaction while enjoying safe shopping online with just a few bits of personal information, but if fingerprint scanning is added to the mix in m-commerce, this could become a much securer way of buying items.