Will The iPhone 5 Allow Wireless Payments Via NFC Chip?

March 18th, 2011

The latest iPhone Rumour buzzing around online is that the iPhone 5 may include a NFC chip within it's internal hardware.

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a technology that allows communication from payment devices such as VISA & EFTPOS cards that are equipped with the new NFC technology.

To pay for an item, one would simply hold the card up near the NFC receiver and the card's details would be read. NFC will also tie into card readers so consumers can still use non-NFC enabled cards by swiping the card through the reader.

Conflicting Reports

Whilst this sounds like a great idea, there is still some doubt as to if and when this will be included within an iPhone.

A strong 'no' confirmation - According to the Independent, UK Telecommunication companies were told by Apple that 'NO', NFC would not be included in the iPhone 5. Apparently Apple stated that it was "concerned by the lack of clear standard across the industry"

This report surprised a lot of people, as this rumor has been alive for months. Also, people working within industries related to NFC, such as NFC Card readers, were quite certain the iPhone 5 would contain NFC.

However, there is a conflicting report to this 'No' which comes via Elizabeth Woyke of Forbes.com, who states that a 'friend of a friend' who works at Apple says that the iPhone will mostly likely include NFC!

There conflicting reports are confusing at best, and knowing which 'source' to trust leaves a lot to be desired.

Are Apple Behind The 8 Ball?

Considering that Google's Nexus S, a popular alternative smartphone to the iPhone, already has NFC built in, we could be forgiven for thinking that Apple would try and keep up by including this within the iPhone 5. Near Field Communications (NFC) is evolving quickly and becoming more and more commonplace in the retail sector.

Implementation of NFC would enable easier payments from customers to merchants, and would have a small but noticeable effect on the way people 'trade'. NFC isn't anywhere near critical mass yet, and there some uncertainty as to the security of the system.

Still, all things being considered, NFC technology could be giving us a glimpse into the future. It's up to Apple, and other companies to make it happen. All will be revealed when the iPhone 5 launches in June or July of 2011.