Apple has acquired a startup with technology that could turn iPhones into mobile payment terminals, Bloomberg reported. Montreal-based Mobeewave has tech that requires only an NFC chip to work, allowing users to tap either their smartphone or a credit card to another phone for payment processing. NFC chips have been included in iPhones since the iPhone 6. And while Apple Pay lets shoppers tap their iPhones to pay at a retail store, adding Mobeewave could allow any iPhone to accept payments without extra hardware like a card reader.
According to Bloomberg, Apple paid about $100 million for Mobeewave, and has retained its team of employees. Neither company would comment on the transaction. Rival phone manufacturer Samsung partnered with Mobeewave last year on a pilot point-of-sale program in Canada. And as Bloomberg notes, Samsung’s venture division is an investor in Mobeewave.
Apple has acquired several other startups this year so far, including popular weather app Dark Sky in March. It looks to be integrating Dark Sky’s features into its native weather app in iOS 14 and has shut down the Android version of the Dark Sky app as of August 1st. Apple also confirmed in May that it bought VR broadcast company NextVR.