It’s a well-known fact that Apple wants as much control over payments as possible. The company has made a few enemies by forcing developers to give up 30% per transaction, yet that situation remains in place. It now seems the technology giant will bring payment processing in-house, although it may take a while to reach that goal.
Another Bold Move By Apple
It is interesting to see the new multi-year plan by Apple to bring payment processing in-house. Dubbed “Breakout“, the goal is to enable payment processing, loan risk assessments, credit checks, fraud analysis, and customer service work in-house. That is a massive undertaking for any service provider and somewhat unusual for companies like Apple to pursue.
Even so, the news is not a complete surprise either. Apple recently acquired Credit Kudos, a UK credit bureau, granting the company access to open banking technology. Credit Kudos primarily focuses on offering finely-tuned credit scores, making it of great value to a technology company like Apple.
Moreover, the technology giant aims to pursue future products, although it is unclear if they will pertain to cryptocurrencies. Credit Kudos offers peer-to-peer payments support, a native wallet application, credit card support, and an option for merchants to accept money through an iPhone. It is a solid match for Apple’s multi-year vision.
The next step for the technology giant is to work on subscription services – possibly for the hardware – and a buy now, pay later product. Crucial partners include CoreCard, Green Dot, and Goldman Sachs. Unfortunately, it seems investors are not too pleased with this decision by the company, even if it can prove beneficial long-term.