Apple Is Working On A Way To Pay For Stuff With Your iPhone, And It Could Launch This Year

Apple may roll out a mobile wallet that would allow users to pay for physical goods with their iPhones, according to a report by Amir Efrati of The Information.

The report says Apple has been talking to payment companies about integrating with its iOS software and has told partners that the mobile wallet could launch as early as this fall along with the new iPhone.

Apple has also reportedly reached a deal with Visa, which has 2.2 billion cardholders.

Apple could support its software with a number of different technologies including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and near-field communication chips (NFC). NFC lets you tap your phone on a special reader to exchange information between devices.

Apple CEO, Tim Cook expressed interest in payment tech on an earnings call in January, The Information notes:

"The mobile payments area in general is one that we've been intrigued with, and that was one of the thoughts behind Touch ID. You can tell by looking at the demographics of our customers, and the amount of commerce that goes through iOS devices versus the competition, that it's a big opportunity on the platform."

Apple has been rumored to be working on a mobile payments system for several years now. It already stores millions of credit cards through iTunes accounts.