HomeBusinessFintech and BlockchainApple: Turns iPhones into payment terminals with the acquisition of (another) startup

Apple: Turns iPhones into payment terminals with the acquisition of (another) startup

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Apple reportedly paid about $100 million for the startup’s acquisition, whose technology could allow any iPhone owner to accept payments without additional software

Apple Inc. acquired Mobeewave Inc., a startup that will allow it to turn iPhones into mobile payment terminals, according to sources with knowledge of the matter cited by Bloomberg.

Mobeewave technology allows shoppers to connect their credit card or smartphone (simply by “passing” the card intact) to another phone to make a payment. The system runs with one application and requires no additional hardware other than Near Field Communications (NFC), which has been included in the iPhone since 2014.

The California-based tech giant paid about $ 100 million for the startup, according to one source. Mobeewave has dozens of employees that Apple has retained and continues to work outside of Montreal, according to sources.

An Apple spokesman said: “Apple occasionally buys smaller technology companies and generally does not disclose our goals or plans.”

Apple usually buys startup companies to enrich the features of its products with their own technology. Apple added Apple Pay to the iPhone in 2014, allowing users with a connection to pay for physical goods in retail stores. Last year, it launched its own credit card, the Apple Card. The acquisition of Mobeewave could allow any iPhone owner to accept payments without additional software.

This is expected to put Apple in direct competition with Square Inc., a leading payment software provider for smartphones and tablets.

On its website, Mobeewave shows how the technology it has developed works: The user enters a transaction amount and then the customer passes his credit card over the phone making the payment on the device.

Last year it was Samsung Electronics Co. who partnered with Mobeewave to use startup technology on its phones. Samsung’s investment arm has also invested in the startup, which has raised more than $ 20 million, according to PitchBook.

This acquisition is one of many that Apple has made this year. It recently acquired Dark Sky weather app and virtual reality content company NextVR. In addition, it has acquired Voysis, Xnor.ai and Inductiv to improve Siri and artificial intelligence, and Fleetsmith to manage corporate devices.

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