NFC adoption could receive a major boost from Apple’s new iPhone 6.

Apple’s upcoming and much anticipated iPhone 6 is finally incorporating technology that will help facilitate payments.

Leaked photos from Nowhereelse.fr claim that it shows the guts of the iPhone 6 currently in production before gearing up for the announcement and launch, rumored to happen at the end of September.

The Chinese source that provided the photo also said that the iPhone 6 would contain an NFC chip.

Apple has famously refused to incorporate NFC, which due to the popularity of their devices around the world has stunted the growth of global NFC usage especially for payments.

Why NFC and why now?

Consumer demand for NFC is rising, at least internationally. Apple has also been reportedly expressing interest in introducing its own mobile payment network.

Apple revealed in April that it had over 800 million iTunes accounts globally, with most connected to a credit card. The company reported it had over 300 million iPhone users.

These are staggering numbers that rival even the largest financial institutions.

The success of Apple in mobile payments is not guaranteed. Competition is fierce, and as of yet, there is no clear-cut winner in the space with rivals like Google, Square, and PayPal duking it out.

Apple will have to leverage its reputation of providing a slick and engaging user experience. Even then, new mobile payment initiatives seem to pop up daily, and they’re all vying for a slice.