Apple said to be 'serious' about moving into mobile payments
Several clues have surfaced over the past few months that point to Apple working on its own mobile payments business. We've seen patent filings, rumors of secret meetings, and analyst predictions. Now, the company appears to be hiring for two new senior electronic payments positions, according to Re/code. Citing anonymous sources, Re/code writes that Apple is looking to fill positions for head of product and head of business development."Their ambitions are very, very serious," one of the sources told Re/code.Related storiesApple looking to build mobile-payments service, report saysSquare discussing possible sale with Google, Apple -- reportApple patent filing reveals digital wallet systemApple to develop digital wallet in next year or two, says analystApple already lets hundreds of millions of users buy music, books, and apps through an iTunes account linked to their credit cards. So, expanding this payment process into a digital wallet, or some other sort of mobile payment service, could be a feasible shift for the company.In January, it was rumored that Apple was exploring a move beyond the digital realm into letting users pay for physical goods and services -- such as clothes or a taxi ride -- with an iTunes account. Reportedly, Apple has been conducting on-going meetings with industry executives to discuss the topic. Expanding into a mobile-payments business could put the company in direct competition with services like Stripe and eBay's PayPal. According to Re/code, there's the possibility that Apple could even partner with PayPal in some sort of joint payment system.CNET contacted Apple for comment. We'll update the story when we get more information.
