Yesterday’s Apple earnings call saw the company’s CEO Tim Cook indicating that mobile payments were indeed one of the driving forces behind the inclusion of Touch ID on the flagship iPhone 5s.
Tim Cook, via MacRumors:
The mobile payments area in general is one that we’ve been intrigued with. It was one of the thoughts behind Touch ID.
Cook continued, saying that users love buying digital content for their devices using Touch ID, because it’s “incredibly simple and easy and elegant.”
He then added that while Apple isn’t planning on limiting the use of Touch ID to just digital purchases, the company had nothing specific to announce. He did say that mobile payments is something Apple has been “intrigued with,” and that there is a “big opportunity.”
Cook’s comments come on the heels of a report last week that suggested Apple is currently in the process of developing a mobile payments service that will handle payments for physical goods and services, in addition to the digital content it currently handles.
