Apple locks iPhone 6 NFC to Apple Pay

Apple Pay uses NFC for contactless payments.James Martin/CNET

After months of speculation, Apple finally came good on rumours of NFC functionality at last week's launch of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and Apple Watch. However, the NFC capability on the new devices is set to be locked down for use only with Apple Pay mobile payments.

While NFC has been present in Androidsmartphones for some time -- Samsung, Sony, and Nokia have all rolled the technology into their flagship device launches -- Apple is a new arrival in the realm of near field communications.

At last week's Apple event, the company announced Apple Pay -- a new mobile payments service that utilises NFC technology in conjunction with its Touch ID fingerprint scanner for secure payments that can be made from the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or Apple Watch.

Apple also announced a number of retailers that would accept Apple Pay for mobile payments at launch.

However, Cult of Mac reports that NFC will be locked to the Apple Pay platform, meaning the technology will not be available for other uses.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed the lock down of the technology, saying developers would be restricted from utilising its NFC chip functionality for at least a year. Apple declined to comment on whether NFC capability would remain off limits beyond that period.

NFC can be used for a wide range of tasks, including pairing a smartphone to speakers for audio playback and sharing contact information between devices, while NFC tags open up the world of customisable automation to anyone with an NFC-enabled device. However, this latest word from Apple seems to indicate that after the long wait, Apple fans may not have all the NFC functionality they desired.

Apple locks iPhone 6 NFC to Apple Pay

Apple Pay uses NFC for contactless payments.James Martin/CNET

After months of speculation, Apple finally came good on rumours of NFC functionality at last week's launch of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and Apple Watch. However, the NFC capability on the new devices is set to be locked down for use only with Apple Pay mobile payments.

While NFC has been present in Androidsmartphones for some time -- Samsung, Sony, and Nokia have all rolled the technology into their flagship device launches -- Apple is a new arrival in the realm of near field communications.

At last week's Apple event, the company announced Apple Pay -- a new mobile payments service that utilises NFC technology in conjunction with its Touch ID fingerprint scanner for secure payments that can be made from the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or Apple Watch.

Apple also announced a number of retailers that would accept Apple Pay for mobile payments at launch.

However, Cult of Mac reports that NFC will be locked to the Apple Pay platform, meaning the technology will not be available for other uses.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed the lock down of the technology, saying developers would be restricted from utilising its NFC chip functionality for at least a year. Apple declined to comment on whether NFC capability would remain off limits beyond that period.

NFC can be used for a wide range of tasks, including pairing a smartphone to speakers for audio playback and sharing contact information between devices, while NFC tags open up the world of customisable automation to anyone with an NFC-enabled device. However, this latest word from Apple seems to indicate that after the long wait, Apple fans may not have all the NFC functionality they desired.

PayPal president David Marcus: Bitcoin is good, NFC is bad

PayPal President David Marcus at LeWeb

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

PARIS -- Online payments will look completely different in the next decade, but Bitcoin has a better chance at revolutionizing commerce than the NFC tap-to-pay technology, PayPal President David Marcus predicted Tuesday.

"I really like Bitcoin. I own bitcoins," Marcus said at the LeWeb conference here. However, he believes people don't correctly understand what bitcoins actually are today, and he's yet ready to let people link their bitcoin wallets with their PayPal accounts.

People are confused. They think because it's called cryptocurrency it's a currency. I don't think it is a currency. It's a store of value, a distributed ledger. It's a great place to put assets, especially in places like Argentina with 40 percent inflation, where $1 today is worth 60 cents in a year, and a government's currency does not hold value. It's also a good investment vehicle if you have an appetite for risk. But it won't be a currency until volatility slows down. Whenever the regulatory framework is clearer, and the volatility comes down, then we'll consider it.

Also, bitcoins aren't widely enough accepted by merchants yet, Marcus added.

Marcus is paying close attention to payment changes as part of his effort to re-energize an eBay service that grew sluggish and complacent after the early dot-com years. He's trying to fostering innovation at the company and cater to developers, particularly those at start-ups.

Although he has some concerns about bitcoin, he's unequivocal about near-field communications (NFC), the very short-range radio communication that can let people tap a credit card or mobile phone to a payment terminal.

"Instead swiping or using a PIN pad, they're tapping. How is that really better? How is that changing your life? People don't want that," he said. People don't want to go to a payment terminal at all, not go to one and tap instead of swipe."It's technology for the sake of technology or for the sake of pushing the agenda of the companies supporting it vs. solving real people's problems," Marcus said of NFC.

Other changes are more likely, he predicted.

"Today a merchant has Internet connectivity at the point-of-sale terminal. All the consumers have phones with wireless networks," he said. "Why do you need to be at a place in a store to make a payment? [NFC is] too little too late."

Other changes will be a gradual transformation of retail to become just part of online sales.

"I think the retail chains will have to reinvent themselves," he said. They'll be showrooms where people can check out products then buy them later online. They'll be logistics centers where people can pick up items quickly that they ordered online. They'll be warehouses from which companies can ship products quickly to online purchasers.

Naturally, PayPal hopes to be part of those transactions, and to help make them easier. People like shopping but not paying, and PayPal can ease the hassles, he said.

"If we're successful, we'll make payments invisible," Marcus said.