NFC Restricted to Apple Pay

[WolfsBane]

It is being reported that the much ballyhooed NFC chip feature on the iPhone 6 is being restricted to Apple Pay only. Allegedly, developers are being prohibited from using the NFC chip for other purposes other than Apple Pay. Unknown if Apple intends to change this in the future.

That pretty much renders that "feature" worthless for many.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Provide a link to these reports or this post gets moved to the Lounge..

 

[WolfsBane]

Provide a link to these reports or this post gets moved to the Lounge..

I was not aware that a link was required when posting. One of the pertinent links has been added as per your request.

​Apple locks iPhone 6 NFC to Apple Pay - CNET.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

This is a very specific forum used to talk about rumors and reports about upcoming Apple hardware/software. To frame the discussion, you need to provide a link to the rumor or the report so that people an read it and discuss it.

The other forums don't require links for posts..

 

[D'artagnan]

Applepay

I think it’s great Apple is introducing Applepay. I’ve heard from more than one source that NFC payments would not take off until Apple jumped in. The past week seems to bear this out. Apple had Visa, Mastercard and American Express on board at the keynote address. Discover announced it would participate the next day. I am not aware of any such announcements when the other NFC phones were announced. This is a good start.

I imagine one of the big concerns Apple has about letting others use the system is security. I was listening to the MacBreak Weekly simulcast during the keynote. They were very impressed about how secure Apple had made the process. A lot of that security has to do with the phone and the way it stores and protects your information. Apple has no control over how the manufacturers of Android phones secure credit card information. I imagine no two do it the same way.

Imagine for a moment the credit card info is leaked/hacked from some of these Android phones. The press won’t care that the problem was with the Android phone. The headlines will say “Credit Card Numbers Stolen from Applepay!”, "Applepay Not Secure". Who thinks otherwise?

That will sink Applepay. It won’t matter it was not Apple’s fault. The perception will be there Applepay is not secure. I am sure Apple wants this locked in to their own phones and ecosystem until Applepay proves itself.

However, I believe if NFC payment is truly going to become mainstream everyone has to be able to play, this includes Android and (god help us) Windows phones. I will be watching with great interest how it plays out.

Regards,
Jeff

 

[chscag]

I was not aware that a link was required when posting. One of the pertinent links has been added as per your request.

That's because you didn't read the Sticky at the top of the forum which gives guidelines for posting there. An excerpt from that Sticky reads as follows:

This forum is for posting news stories or links from rumor sites. When you start a thread, please include a link to the site you're referencing.

Thanks for posting the link.

 

[WolfsBane]

No, in honesty I didn't see the sticky.

 

[WolfsBane]

I think that more specifically, the question pertains to how NFC is being utilized. Not so much about Apple Pay. I can understand the security concerns around Apple Pay, and they are certainly valid. But the perception, when Apple disclosed that they were offering NFC as a viable technology on the iPhone 6, was that it could be utilized to communicate with other devices to link or exchange information when in close proximity, and not something specifically tied and restricted to Apple Pay alone.

 

[pigoo3]

I was not aware that a link was required when posting.

I like include links in many of my posts (when it involves something factual)…versus a "my opinion" post. Since it adds extra "flavor" to a post. Especially if an interested person is curious to learn more.

- Nick

 

[WolfsBane]

I like include links in many of my posts (when it involves something factual)…versus a "my opinion" post. Since it adds extra "flavor" to a post. Especially if an interested person is curious to learn more.

- Nick

Will Do. ;D

 

[johnodd4]

do you know why the nfc is being locked...

Do you remember the samsung debacle a few years ago hackers installed hacker apps on there samsungs to steal peoples credit card numbers using the nfc so google released a store update to block the app from being used on the latest samsung products

 

[chas_m]

I'd strongly suggest anyone interested in Apple Pay have a read of the Financial Times article that explains in clear terms how the security on Apple Pay works.

Summary version here:

http://www.macnn.com/articles/14/09....of.purchases.does.not.affect.purchase.price/

Also contains a link to the FT article.

 

[fleurya]

I think that more specifically, the question pertains to how NFC is being utilized. Not so much about Apple Pay. I can understand the security concerns around Apple Pay, and they are certainly valid. But the perception, when Apple disclosed that they were offering NFC as a viable technology on the iPhone 6, was that it could be utilized to communicate with other devices to link or exchange information when in close proximity, and not something specifically tied and restricted to Apple Pay alone.

Sorry, but if you or anyone had that perception, it was all in their head. Apple never announced any other services that would work with the NFC chip. Apple only announced the NFC chip within the context of Apple Pay to explain how it will work.

Maybe Apple will make better use of it later, but I for appreciate Apple's slow and cautious approach to granting access to anything that contains such critical information. If people are really depserate for a phone that can do more with NFC, there are other phones that will do the job.

I think you're original comment saying the restriction renders it "worthless to many" is pretty extreme. With pretty much every major bank and credit card company signed on as well as over 200,000 retail outlets, it's going to be pretty useful to a lot of people!

 

[WolfsBane]

Sorry, but if you or anyone had that perception, it was all in their head. Apple never announced any other services that would work with the NFC chip. Apple only announced the NFC chip within the context of Apple Pay to explain how it will work.

Maybe Apple will make better use of it later, but I for appreciate Apple's slow and cautious approach to granting access to anything that contains such critical information. If people are really depserate for a phone that can do more with NFC, there are other phones that will do the job.

I think you're original comment saying the restriction renders it "worthless to many" is pretty extreme. With pretty much every major bank and credit card company signed on as well as over 200,000 retail outlets, it's going to be pretty useful to a lot of people!

Actually, that perception was not mine. I simply passed on information by one of the many reports on the net on that date. And the comment that the restriction would render this feature "worthless to many" was not originated by me either. That was a comment by one of the sites announcing Apple's decision. Not everyone will be interested in putting their credit cards on their phone. The interest in Apple's announcement of the NFC chip was as much for use in other near field applications, as used with other devices, as much as it was for anything pertaining to Apple Pay.

 

[chas_m]

But the perception, when Apple disclosed that they were offering NFC as a viable technology on the iPhone 6, was that it could be utilized to communicate with other devices to link or exchange information when in close proximity, and not something specifically tied and restricted to Apple Pay alone.

Where, aside from your own imagination, did this "perception" come from?

Also, where's your evidence that Apple will never open up the NFC chip to be used for other purposes? This is a new payment system that has to persuade the public that it is secure in order to foster adoption. I'd have been deeply shocked if they *hadn't* locked this down tight until it is proven and widely adopted.

Frankly, NFC hasn't been shown to be much good for much else other than payments as far as I can tell, so I'm not seeing what the "dealbreaker" is here.

One final thought. When Apple brought out Touch ID, they restricted it to very limited use only (iTunes purchases and unlocking the phone). Nothing else. Oh look, a year later what's happened?

I think you've jumped to conclusions a little bit perhaps ...

 

[WolfsBane]

Where, aside from your own imagination, did this "perception" come from?

Also, where's your evidence that Apple will never open up the NFC chip to be used for other purposes? This is a new payment system that has to persuade the public that it is secure in order to foster adoption. I'd have been deeply shocked if they *hadn't* locked this down tight until it is proven and widely adopted.

Frankly, NFC hasn't been shown to be much good for much else other than payments as far as I can tell, so I'm not seeing what the "dealbreaker" is here.

One final thought. When Apple brought out Touch ID, they restricted it to very limited use only (iTunes purchases and unlocking the phone). Nothing else. Oh look, a year later what's happened?

I think you've jumped to conclusions a little bit perhaps ...

Hmmm... I'm sorry, but I'm not the one jumping to conclusions.

One: There were plenty of articles that came out, at the time of this announcement, if you really want to inform yourself of what was being said at the time regarding this matter, they still should be available. Again, this perception didn't come from me. I get it that Apple wants to protect and secure their new potential cash cow. It make perfect business sense. But again, not everyone is going to want to jump into Apple Pay, at least not immediately. This is what those articles were pointing out. To these individuals, as these articles state, the NFC technology provides nothing of present value. Two: saying that Apple will never open the NFC chip technology to other use is your statement. Not mine. Will Apple open NFC for other uses? Hard to say right now. Specially if Apple Pay does take off, and Apple feels that securing that system is more important than opening the technology to other near field uses. Yes, there are multiple challenges to compromising the NFC system in order to come up with a way to effectively hack that system... specially since what it is supposed to transmit is a specific one time code that theoretically would not be used again. The specific credit card or debit card information itself is not used. But perception, to consumers, is reality. Apple is going to want to give consumers every confidence that this technology is absolutely secured. IMO, Apple will continue to relegate information/file sharing/connectivity applications to iCloud/iCloud drive and LAN/Wifi based applications such as Airdrop. Just MO.

 

[vansmith]

This is a new payment system that has to persuade the public that it is secure in order to foster adoption.

New to the United States perhaps. I found an infographic the other day that showed the global uptake of NFC payment systems. The United States only offered NFC based payments at less than 1% of retailers whereas outside of the US, percentages were much higher. The rest of North America, for example, had 40% penetration (I think the greater number of non-Canadian POS machines pulls that down because I don't think I've seen a POS machine without it in...years?) which is paltry compared to the 77% of Europe (source).

I think this might be one of the few occasions where, without a shadow of a doubt, America is lagging in some regard technologically. I think this is why a lot of reviews are saying "this isn't all that helpful right now in the US" which is always interesting to read in relation to commenters from outside who say "give it to us since it's actually useful!" (This wasn't meant to be anti-American. It was just an observation).