Apple will reportedly receive a small percentage from each Apple Pay transaction
Apple yesterday introduced a new mobile payment platform dubbed Apple Pay that will enable iPhone 6 users to seamlessly pay for goods and services without having to take out a credit card. Instead, a simple and subtle wave of one's iPhone next to a payment reader will do the trick.
While Apple yesterday explained how the system works in addition to touting all of the blue-chip companies already signed on to support the payment platform, we weren't provided with any details as to whether or not Apple will be getting a small percentage of each transaction.
Now comes word via Bloomberg that the deals Apple struck with banks will give them a piece of the pie.
Apple and banks individually negotiated the fees in setting up the service, according to the people, who requested anonymity because terms aren't public. Fees will be charged for every transaction, one person said. The people didn't specify the size, which they said could vary, or whether it's tied to the value of purchases. The mobile-payments market will probably more than quadruple to about $90 billion by 2017, according to Forrester Research.
While it remains to be seen if further details emerge, it stands to reason that whatever percentage the banks agreed to pay Apple is rather small. Still, even pennies on the dollar add up extremely quickly when we're talking about millions upon millions of transactions.
