According to a new report from The New York Times, Apple will, as expected, announce new details and enhancements for Apple Pay at WWDC next month. The report, citing two people briefed on the product, claims that Apple plans to add a rewards program to Apple Pay.
Specific details regarding how the rewards program will work remain sparse at this point. Earlier this month it was rumored that Apple had shown interest in acquiring the failed payment startup Clinkle. Clinkle, which has been mocked and ridiculed from the beginning, is a payment rewards startup.
Apple Pay competitor CurrentC supports loyalty and rewards cards in its mobile payment offering. Users are able to add both their debit cards and rewards cards to the service, making for a more seamless experience than Apple’s offering, which requires loyalty cards to stay in Passbook. Another possibility for Apple’s rewards program, however, is that the company could be getting into the business of giving cash back promotions to Apple Pay users. We’ll have to wait for WWDC next month for anything to be confirmed.
The addition of a rewards program to Apple Pay will likely launch alongside iOS 9, on which we’ve already covered a plethora of details. Regarding Apple Pay, we reported today that had considered highlighting points-of-interest in Maps that supported Apple Pay, but has since scrapped that feature. We also reported earlier this week that Apple plans to support Apple Pay in Canada, making it the first country outside the United States.
Apple is preparing to announce details about enhancements to Apple Pay at its software conference next month. Those include a rewards program for the mobile wallet service, said two people briefed on the product.
In related news, Target CEO Brian Cornell, speaking at the Code Conference, stated that he has met with Tim Cook regarding the possibility of supporting Apple Pay. Cornell said that Target’s main focus right now is converting all of its stores to the secure chip-and-pin credit cards, but that down the line, he very much wants to support Apple Pay.
Google is expected to introduce Android Pay at its own I/O developer conference later this week. The service is expected to include support for reward programs, as well.
In addition to developing its new Apple Pay features, Apple is working on a series of other updates for iOS 9. As we have reported, Apple is developing a new streaming music service based on its acquisition of Beats Electronics, a new Home app for managing home automation accessories, a refreshed look for iPhones and iPads with the new San Francisco typeface, new security and optimization features, iPad split-screen apps, a new keyboard, and iMessage improvements.
