Apple makes mobile payments move with Mobeewave deal

Apple has acquired Canadian payments startup Mobeewave for $100 million.

“We buy smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” an Apple spokesman told Bloomberg.

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Mobeewave’s NFC-based solution enables 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. Adding Mobeewave could allow Apple’s smartphones to accept payments without the need for extra hardware like a card reader.

Rival phone manufacturer Samsung partnered with Mobeewave last year on a pilot Point of Sale programme in Canada. Samsung’s venture division is an investor in Mobeewave.

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