

Ask HN: What does Apple's entry into mobile payments mean for Visa/MC? - dy

Hey guys - just curious on what people think Apple's entry into the mobile payments space means for incumbents like Visa/MC (the networks), online payment portals like Paypal etc.<p>Does Apple have enough clout to change the landscape?  Will Apple and Google dominate this space through a consortium?
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ericmsimons
I see a few issues with this.

Problem 1 - A majority of the population doesn't own a smartphone.

Problem 2 - Assuming the that problem 1 doesn't matter, Apple doesn't have
enough "smart" devices to hold enough clout. Even Google + Apple's smart
devices wouldn't hold enough clout. You would have to get Nokia, RIM, WP7,
Android, and iPhone on board before vendors would want to invest in new
payment technologies.

What may happen is that an open standard will be set for all smart devices
which let us connect to our already existing Visa, MasterCard, or PayPal
accounts. It simply doesn't make sense to create an entirely new payment
system when there are already tons of them out there...but I could be very
very wrong. Apple is known for creating clutch products that everyone thought
was impossible :)

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kylelibra
I'm sure the sentiment among these companies is similar to how traditional
mobile companies felt when Apple announced the iPhone. Something along the
lines of "this could be really bad for us if this thing catches on."

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dy
Also curious what that means for terminal companies like Verifone and CMT.

