Eventually, Apple will hold a conference or event that reveals major implications for the mobile payments industry.
But despite one interesting note from the Worldwide Developer Conference, yesterday was not that day.
Yes, WWDC lacked any references to Passbook or an “iWallet” or “iMoney” platform. And for the umpteenth time, Apple has remained mum on when (if ever) it will dive into NFC.
What we did learn, however, is that Apple is changing the way it stores credit card information on its devices via a new iCloud Keychain that could be big ramifications for online shopping.
As Wired noted in its coverage of WWDC, the new Keychain will store passwords in iCloud enabling syncing across devices. To keep credit card data secure, it will only sync to “trusted devices,” and uses 256-bit AES encryption. The new Keychain will only store credit card numbers and expiration dates – and not security codes — so it’s unclear if users will have to manually enter such information when they make purchases.
The new Keychain iteration comes as part of Apple’s massive overhaul to its operating system, Mac OS X Mavericks.
On Friday, Apple filed a patent application for a digital wallet, couponing and virtual currency platform. Apple made no such mention of the patent or any of its components at WWDC.
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