A new rumor suggests Apple will soon announce a feature for the next iPhone — one that allows phones to act as a credit card in brick and mortar stores.
Re/code reports that Apple is in private talks with American Express on partnering up to bring this feature to the next model, the iPhone 6.
Reports have already circulated that Apple has been in similar talks with Visa and Mastercard.
And Wired wrote last week that the next iPhone will likely include a near-field communication chip, which would make these types of mobile payments possible.
While interesting, this rumored feature and the technology to make it happen is far from groundbreaking.
Google Wallet does the same thing and has been around for a while now but hasn't caught on as much as Google would like.
Retailers who have been slow to adopt the new technology are partly to blame for this.
But Fortune reports that Visa and MasterCard have set an October 2015 deadline for U.S. retailers to make the switch from reading cards via magnetic strips to embedded chips.
So, actually the timing is great for Apple to start implementing a mobile payment feature.
And despite Google getting lackluster results with its efforts, a market analyst told Bloomberg things look better for Apple. "Love it or hate it, Apple drives a lot of standards in the industry. They are the mover in these markets. When they do something, the industry seems to follow."
Several media outlets have speculated that Apple will announce the feature at its product event September 9.
This video includes images from Getty Images.
