Text Me Some Money

Apple announced on Monday that it is launching a money-transfer service that could challenge PayPal, Chase QuickPay and other competitors, letting iPhone and iPad users send money digitally to each other via a text.

The new feature will appear automatically inside Apple Text Messages when Apple launches the new version of its mobile operating system, iOS 11.

Apple also announced its own digital debit card — called Apple Pay Cash — that lets people take the money they receive via the new money-transfer service and use it to make Apple Pay purchases online or in physical stores that accept tap-and-pay transactions.

The new Apple money-transfer service will be limited to users of iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches.

These services have typically been money losers for the new entrants in the space, but are seen as the gateway to the next generation of payment and personal finance services that could upend traditional consumer banking relationships. They are used for everything from splitting dinner bills to paying rent.

So does Apple want to be a bank? Not now, but maybe someday.

For now, the new Apple Pay Cash card could have a more direct impact on a current Apple business: Apple Pay. Industry insiders believe the virtual debit card will be a way to introduce Apple Pay to new users, perhaps to a younger consumers that don’t already have their own traditional credit or debit cards.

That, in turn, could boost usage of the Apple Pay service, which has been underwhelming in the nearly three years since it launched.

Of course, if you want to accept Apple Pay in your business be sure to drop us a line at support@banquest.com.

Happy Tuesday & Happy Selling!

Kevin