Reports from Deutsche Telekom's press conference at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona seem to confirm Apple's entry into the world of mobile payments. In a pre-conference press release, Deutsche Telekom AG, the parent company of wireless carrier T-Mobile, announced its plans to bring a mobile payment system, what T-Mobile is calling a "mobile wallet," to market using near field communication (NFC) during 2011.
During the press conference, DT executives said the payment network would be introduced in the United States this year with a global rollout completed sometime during 2012.
The timing is interesting but not particularly surprising since T-Mobile is a partner in the United States with Verizon Wireless and AT&T in the Isis Network. The Isis Network is a joint venture announced last year aimed at creating an NFC payment system accessible to the carrier's subscribers.
What did cause a stir was a list of technology partners and handset manufacturers included on presentation slides handed out during the press conference. Several reports indicate DT's list of handset manufacturers selling an NFC-enabled phone included Apple. The presentation said Apple’s NFC-enabled phone would be available in the second quarter of 2011.
This would seem to confirm persistent stories that Apple is looking to enter the world of mobile payments by supporting NFC technologies. Apple has not commented on its NFC plans.
Apple's iPhone currently has approximately 25 percent of the market share in smartphones, and inclusion of NFC-support in its next generation phones would be a significant boost for the Isis Network as well as NFC adoption in general.
