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Just because they didn’t achieve the success they had hoped with Apple Pay, that doesn’t mean Apple is out of the mobile pay game.
According to Recode, Apple is currently having discussions with its payments industry partners about introducing its own Venmo competitor. It is believed that users would use digital debit cards linked to the service, which would let them use funds without waiting for the money to hit their bank account, according to industry sources.
In terms of a timetable for the service, a source familiar with the plan told Recode that the Cupertino-based company is likely to announce the new service later this year, however, another source disputed that claim, saying an announcement and launch date have not yet been set.
Apple had previously had discussions with banks about such a service back in 2015, although nothing ever materialized.
Should the product successfully launch, Apple is hoping to compete PayPal’s subsidiary Venmo, as well as Chase’s QuickPay. Chase’s service processed $28 billion in transfers last year, while Venmo registered $17.6 billion in volume.
Similarly, industry sources said that Apple recently held discussions with Visa about creating its own pre-paid cards that would run on the Visa debit network. This program would be tied to the potential new peer-to-peer service
The service would be different from Apple Pay. Apple Pay, released to the iPhone 6 in 2014, allows users to store their Visa, MasterCard and American Express credit cards in their iPhone. To pay, users have to hold their phone up to a card reader and press their finger on the Touch ID button in order to confirm their identity.
