Is iBeacon Apple’s Answer to Isis and NFC?

The mobile payments company Isis has recently launched with backing from major phone carriers Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile USA - and while it seems the big three were hoping to corner the mobile payments market by blocking Google Wallet on their services, the newest Android OS update has found a way around this, leaving both companies to battle it out for top NFC mobile payment provider.

Interestingly, Apple has been fairly quiet in the mobile payments game, and with another version of the iPhone coming out sans NFC capability, it appeared as though Apple was planning to keep it that way.

But now it seems Apple may actually be looking to jump into the mobile payments arena by side stepping NFC altogether. As Apple news site 9to5Mac has pointed out, the company is gearing up to begin implementing its new product, iBeacon into its own stores very soon.

Utilizing the iBeacon’s BLE technology, Apple stores will be able to track customers’ locations within their stores with extreme precision, displaying pricing, specs, and promotional information relevant to the items a customer is near.

Customers will also be able to pay for items through connecting to iBeacons. This may be the key to Apple’s success, as while many consumers have NFC enabled devices, most merchants would still have to shell out some big money for POS systems that can accept NFC payments. The iBeacon is a fairly low priced alternative.

Offering a low priced mobile payment option for merchants, and enticing adoption from consumers through providing an immersive shopping experience may be just what the mobile payments industry needs.

The MLB is already jumping on the iBeacon bandwagon, with teams utilizing the technology to offer personalized experiences within their ballparks. And with both Google Wallet and Isis seeing less than favorable reviews within the Google Play store, it seems Apple’s iBeacon is in a very good position to become a leader in mobile payments.