While it was widely rumored to be included in the 2011 version of the iPhone, it seems more and more likely that the upcoming iPhone 5 will include near-field communications (NFC) technology to enable mobile transactions.
There are a handful of third-party applications which allow you to swipe your iPhone across a special reader to make payments, but Apple has not chosen to include NFC – the standard that allows for widespread contactless transactions, data exchange and more – in its iconic device up to this point. Tech site 9to5Mac talked with a Macworld developer who is building an app that includes NFC reading for mobile transactions. The developer said he didn't know anything about the iPhone 5 for certain, but was confident in what iOS engineers are telling him about NFC, "enough to bet the app development on."
Just last week, Fast Company speculated that MasterCard might be a potential payment-systems partner for Apple after interviewing the credit-card company's emerging-payments head. Ed McLaughlin told the site, " I don't know of a handset manufacturer that isn't in process of making sure their stuff is PayPass ready." When asked specifically about Apple, McLaughlin was coy, but didn't deny the company's interest.
"Now, when we have discussions with our partners, and they ask us not to disclose them, we don't," he told Fast Company.
