Apple Might Be Readying Digital Currency, Too (June 3, 2014)
As speculation mounts around Apple’s plans for mobile payments and the tremors the company could create among mobile wallet providers, Apple might be prepping to launch its own digital currency.
Almost a year ago, Apple filed a patent for a cloud-based digital currency called iMoney. Shortly after that, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company began banning from its App Store bitcoin-related apps or apps that facilitated bitcoin payments, according to International Business Times in the U.K. What’s more, Apple recently changed its App Store review Guidelines to allow for transactions using “approved” digital currencies. Although Apple has not stated which crypto-currencies are approved, according to IBT, “this news could well hint that Apple is set to finally make use of the iMoney patent and launch its own bitcoin-like currency.”
In related Apple news, the company released yesterday its iOS8 software developer kit with thousands of new APIs, including Touch ID APIs enabling developers to securely authenticate users within apps, protect logins and user data, and unlock keychain items using fingerprint data. CardFlight, a New York-based firm that enables developers to integrate in-person card payments into their own apps, already has announced it will incorporate Apple’s Touch ID technology into its SwipeSimple mobile payments application launched earlier this year.
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