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Apple Pay finally becomes useful in Canada
Apple Pay technically launched in Canada back in November, but it might as well have been non-existent -- you could only use a directly-issued American Express card, which isn't all that common in the country. At last, though, things are opening up. Apple has announced that its tap-to-pay service is now available through a much, much wider range of providers. Right now, you can use it through heavyweights CIBC and RBC (both credit and debit cards) as well as smaller providers ATB (initially MasterCard-only) and Canadian Tire (MasterCard). The other big three (BMO, Scotiabank and TD) aren't ready yet, but they've all committed to letting you pay with your iPhone or Apple Watch in the months ahead.
EnStream to bring mobile wallet to Canadians, make loonies obsolete (video)
A joint venture of Canadian carriers Rogers, Bell and Telus called EnStream is in final talks with the country's leading banks (likely CIBC, TD, RBC, Scotiabank and BMO) to bring a mobile wallet solution to the Great White North within six months. The system, which was demoed at the CWTA Wireless Showcase last September, enables mobile payments by storing a user's financial credentials on the SIM located inside their NFC-capable phone. It aims to replace credit and debit cards at first -- perhaps even driver's licenses and loyalty programs down the road. Carriers plan to charge banks a flat rate instead of a per-transaction fee. According to Almis Ledas, EnStream's COO, "banking machines will become the payphones of the future". While we command this attempt to standardize mobile payments in Canada, the time frame seems rather optimistic in light of the slow progress AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have made with Isis in the US so far. Different countries, different rules of course -- still, we think it's going to take quite a while to make loonies obsolete. Maybe this is the perfect window of opportunity for Google Wallet and Square to jump across the border, eh? Time will tell. Check out EnStream's mobile wallet in action on video after the break.
Survey finds initial iPad demand to be greater than initial iPhone demand
So there's no question that the iPad has generated plenty of interest and debate, but the big question remaining is how that will translate into actual sales. According to a new RBC / ChangeWave survey, however, it seems that the iPad is at least on track to do slightly better than the iPhone did, at least initially... maybe. To be a bit more specific, the survey found that of the 3,200 respondents, 13% were either somewhat likely or very likely to buy an iPad, compared to 9% who said the same thing about the iPhone way back in April, 2007. Of course, that says little about the potential long-term success of the iPad, and there's also the small issue of the iPhone already existing, which no doubt factors considerably into anyone's potential iPad purchase. Not surprisingly, RBC also says that the iPad relatively low price is a significant factor, and adds that only 8% of respondents were unwilling to pay Apple's prices for the iPad, compared to hefty 28% that said the initial iPhone prices were out of the question for them.
Rogers holds hands with RBC / Visa for mobile phone payment pilot
If you're tired of paying for random snacks and such the old fashioned way (you know, swiping your credit card and handing over your John Henry), Rogers Wireless feels your pain. While not the first mobile payment initiative to hit the Great North, this one has some pretty notable backers. Starting in mid-2009, Rogers, RBC and Visa will join together to allow customers "to pay for small purchases" so long as they're holding one of the "specially-equipped mobile phones that can be waved at Visa payWave-enabled checkout readers at select retail stores and quick-service restaurants in Toronto's downtown core." The pilot will utilize Motorola handsets outfitted with Near Field Communication (NFC) contactless chips, while Gemalto will be managing the transfer of credit card information from RBC to the secure SIM card. There's no word on plans beyond the trial, but here's hoping it does something more than just fizzle out.[Via mobilesyrup]
AAPL down sharply after two ratings cuts
Bad day for Big Rainbow: RBC Capital's Mike Abramsky and Morgan Stanley's Kathryn Huberty cut their ratings and price targets on Apple stock, both citing weakness in consumer spending on PCs. AAPL was down 17.38 at 110.86 (-13.58%) as of this writing: a 20-minute-delayed chart is above. Abramsky's price target on AAPL shares is now $140 (down from $200), while Huberty's is lower at $115 (down from $178). Huberty also notes Apple will struggle because the company "does not play" in the sub-$1,000 laptop market. In a slim bit of good news, Abramsky raised his estimate of the number of iPhone units sold during the fourth quarter to six million, up from five. AAPL's price during the trading day has been its lowest in over a year.
RIM launching $150 million VC fund for mobile apps
Following the lead of Google and Apple in providing a hefty chunk of some sort of funding up front for app developers, RIM is teaming up with RBC and Thomson Reuters to provide a $150 million fund to invest in "mobile applications and services." Interestingly, RIM isn't limiting those apps and services just to the BlackBerry, and instead the fund is designed to "advance the industry." The fund will be open to companies from all over the world, and sounds like it'll be open to pretty much any type of mobile application or service developer that plans on kicking ass in its respective field. We're curious as to how BlackBerry slanted the fund will end up being, but hey, it's their money, so we really couldn't complain either way.
iPhone to become subsidized, non-exclusive?
RBC analyst Mark Abramsky says that the iPhone will exceed its projected goal of 10 million devices sold in 2008 -- possibly by selling upwards of 14 million. How is Apple going to get these sales figures? Well, Abramsky suggests that AT&T could subsidize the iPhone by up to $200 for the 8GB model. This would mean the 8GB iPhone could sell for as little as $199 (previously rumored here); and possibly increase sales by 50 to 100 percent. According to Abramsky, this would mean Apple would have to drop revenue sharing with AT&T. Mr. Abramsky also believes that Apple will start to sell unlocked iPhones (or iPhones without a specific carrier) without a premium over the AT&T iPhones. He suggest that unlocked iPhones could increase the adoption rate by two to three times for Apple's phone.All of Abramsky's conjecture hinges on Apple and AT&T agreeing to end their 5 year exclusivity agreement early. We here at TUAW see no real reason for either company to agree to that, at least not in the States.
"Wave-and-pay" system headed to Canada
Oh, Canada! If all goes to plan, you Canucks up north will soon be able to take advantage of technology that is already in use in many corners of the globe. Reportedly, the Royal Bank of Canada and Visa Canada will be teaming up to launch a pilot program that enables users to purchase goods by just waving their cellphone in front of a reader. The handsets will sport an embedded microchip to pass along payment information, and similar to PayPass setups, it'll require no pin / password / signature for transactions under $25. Anne Koski, head of payment innovations at Royal Bank's cards division, noted that it was still too early to say which mobiles would eventually feature the built-in technology, but hopefully we'll be finding out sooner rather than (even) later.[Image courtesy of USATech]
