By: Raymond Hackney
Apple filed for a patent for iMoney today. Venture Beat published an article today detailing the news and has an illustrated look at the patent.
From the article:
Apple’s has applied for a patent
on a combined virtual currency and digital wallet technology that would
allow you to store money in the cloud, make payments with your iPhone,
and — just maybe — communicate with point-of-sale terminals via NFC.
And, make money by viewing ads.
The patent application, published today by the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Organization, details how iPhone users could walk into a
store, pay for goods with their phone, and walk out with their
merchandise. All of this is possible today, of course, but Apple’s
patent application mentions — although does not require — NFC, something
that Apple has long resisted adding to the iPhone. NFC facilitates
digital wallets and cashless purchasing by wirelessly transmitting
payment credentials and pricing information.
iMoney.com is owned by a company called Intellibrand from looking at the website. The domain is under privacy and was registered in 1996.
