There's been some speculation that Apple might include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 5, turning it into a credit/debit card substitute.
With the tech being inside the Google Nexus S andSamsung Galaxy Nexus, as well as a host of other top smartphones, the time for NFC may finally be here.
The two tone back of the new iPhone 5 is perfect for the NFC antenna as well - plus the fact that Passbook in iOS 6is very similar to the likes of Google Wallet and Microsoft's Windows Phone Wallet - which both use NFC.
On 24 June 2011 it was reported that the Google Wallet mobile payment platform could feature on the new iPhone. Eric Schmidt admitted that Google is looking to port the software to other manufacturers.
And on 31 January 2012 9to5Mac claimed to have spoken with a well-connected developer who disclosed information received from Apple iOS engineers saying they are "heavily into NFC".
The developer in question has not been named, but is working on a dedicated iOS app which includes NFC reading for mobile transactions. When questioned how confident he was on the information he had received his reply was "Enough to bet the app development on".
On April 30 2012 an Apple patent filing reinforced the idea NFC in iPhone 5 - and leaked code from something purporting to be the new iPhone alsocontains a lot of information on NFC in the new iPhone.
Apple would be a big name to add into the NFC ranks, and would help push the technology more firmly into users' pockets. The likes of Visa and Mastercard are working hard on making contactless payments a part of every day life, and while our conversations with these companies haven't yielded concrete information, they're very hopeful Apple will be coming on
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