Apple delays launch of P2P payment
Apple’s peer-to-peer payments feature will not be launched with iOS 11. The P2P payment will enable users to send money and get paid in Messages. Users can also use Siri to pay someone, using the credit and debit cards they already have in Wallet. In a statement on its website, Apple said the service would be “coming this fall” to iPhones and watches – the reason for the delay was not disclosed.
When users get paid, they receive the money in a new Apple Pay Cash card in Apple Wallet and can then use the money instantly. Apple is partnering with prepaid payment card company Green Dot on the virtual Apple Pay Cash card.
The option, which was scheduled to go live with an update to iOS 11 is expected to give tough competition to PayPal’s Venmo, SquareCash and Facebook. Last week a consortium of US banks launched Zelle Pay that allows instant cash transfer. It was already available as a standalone app version that allowed transfer through its members’ standard banking apps. However, unlike Zelle and Venmo, Apple’s service will only work across its own devices.