Apple Explores In-House Payments Processing

Technology giant Apple is trying to bring more of its operations in-house, including developing its own payment processing tech and infrastructure that will run its future financial products, Bloomberg wrote on Wednesday (March 30).

The report noted that Apple’s idea is “ambitious,” citing sources familiar with the matter. It would reportedly cut down on the tech giant’s reliance on outside partners, eventually replacing most outside services over a multi-year plan.

This would come with new approaches to payment processing, risk assessment for lending, fraud analysis, credit checks and more, including things like dispute handling, per the report.

Rather than focusing on Apple’s current lineup of services, the plan seems to be focused on future products. Apple’s current push would also make the company a bigger force in financial services.

Bloomberg wrote that part of the project has been called “Breakout” in internal communications. Sources told the publication that the name highlights the idea of “breaking away” from the existing financial system, and the project is reportedly Apple’s biggest foray into finance.

This could be a hurdle to get over, with other tech companies — like Meta and Alphabet — having attempted similarly ambitious projects, only to scale them back later. In Meta’s case, that included its digital coin, and in Alphabet’s, its plan for bank accounts.

The company’s lineup already includes the Apple-branded credit card, peer-to-peer payments, the Wallet app and a mechanism for merchants to accept credit cards from an iPhone.

Apple pioneered its payment system ApplePay in 2014, allowing multiple payment options for users of Apple devices. The company was criticized by regulators for its ‘walled garden’ approach that restricts the compatibility of third-party offerings.

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