Apple is mulling the idea of building its own money-transfer service, and is actively talking to industry leaders about the move, apparently.
That’s according to reputable tech site Recode, which cites a number of sources familiar with Apple’s plans to create a dedicated money-transfer platform:
“The company has recently held discussions with payments industry partners about introducing its own Venmo competitor, according to multiple sources…” the report reads.
It continues: “The service would allow iPhone owners to send money digitally to other iPhone owners, these people said.”
According to one source, Apple is hoping to announce the new service later this year, although a different source “cautioned that an announcement and launch date may not yet be set”.
Apple was previously reported as having held talks with banks about a similar service back in 2015, although no transfer service launched. However, Apple has seen great success with its mobile payments platform, Apple Pay. The Apple Pay service launched back in 2014, and by the middle of 2016, the platform was said to be gaining a million new users each week. However, several sources told Recode that Apple pay usage has been “lighter than expected”.
It’s not clear whether Apple’s money-transfer service would be integrated into the existing Apple Pay platform, although it seems likely. The Apple Pay app already has banking infrastructure on side, and has security measures built into the app that allow for safe transactions.
Launching a money-transfer service would be a clear bid to take on existing platforms like PayPal, Venmo, and Square Cash, and outpace rivals like Android Pay. This service could work using pre-paid cards, as Recode outlines:
“Apple has also recently held discussions with Visa about creating its own pre-paid cards that would run on the Visa debit network and which would be tied to the new peer-to-peer service, sources told Recode. People would be able to use the Apple cards to spend money sent to them through the new service, without having to wait for it to clear to their bank account.”
