Absentee NFC in iPhone 5 may hurt banks more than Apple

mobile payments technology

iphone 5 mobile payments

iPhone 5 may be missed opportunity for banks looking to promote mobile commerce

Earlier this month, Apple officially unveiled the highly anticipated iPhone 5. Among the numerous features included in the company’s latest iteration of its popular smart phone, the absence of NFC technology received a great deal of attention. Apple has chosen not to include NFC technology in the new iPhone 5 because of reasons concerning security and the concept that the technology does not solve any problems consumers are facing today. Apple has been criticized for its snub of NFC technology, with many critics saying that the lack of the technology will hurt Apple in the long run. The absence of NFC technology from the iPhone 5 may, however, may cause more trouble for banks rather than Apple.

NFC technology forms the foundation of mobile commerce

NFC technology has been used, sparingly, in marketing for years. The technology allows for dynamic communication between mobile devices and materials equipped with an NFC chip or tag. The technology has emerged as the cornerstone of mobile commerce, largely due to its interactive capabilities. Mobile commerce has proven to be a popular concept for banks and other financial institutions and many have invested heavily in platforms such as Google Wallet and Isis.

NFC-enabled devices needed to get consumers involved in new payment systems

Like its name suggests, mobile commerce is highly dependent upon the NFC capabilities of mobile devices. The low availability of NFC-enabled mobile devices has kept the expansion of mobile commerce fairly limited. This is a problem that many banks were hoping would be rectified with the iPhone 5. Since the iPhone 5 is expected to be a massively popular device, its NFC capabilities could have exposed a huge number of consumers to mobile commerce and new payment systems, translating into major benefits for banks and other financial institutions.

Banks may miss out on opportunity to expose consumers to mobile commerce

Apple has expressed some interest in mobile commerce, but is wary of the use of NFC technology. The company has tentative plans to introduce the technology into future products, but definitive plans have yet to be announced. The mobile commerce industry is considered to have missed out on a significant opportunity through Apple’s decision to avoid NFC technology at this time.

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