At the ned of last month, Bloomberg News reported that Apple is launching an initiative code-named “Breakout” to bring more financial services capabilities—like payment processing, risk and fraud analysis, credit checks, and customer service—in-house.
That helps explain why Apple acquired Credit Kudos, a UK-based open banking company that helps lending streamline and improve their loan underwriting efforts.
But why the broader push to bring financial capabilities like payment processing and customer service functions in-house? Tom Noyes, CEO and founder of Acc3pt and longtime payments industry insider, speculates that with Breakout, Apple wants to:
• Own the payments supply chain and minimize any external vendors and partners touching consumer data.
• Launch a buy now, pay later (BNPL) feature to jumpstart the Apple Card in various markets.
• Reduce network costs and improve integration into local schemes (e.g., see ApplePay India’s UPI integration).
• Improve the consumer experience by deploying Apple Cash in every market, connecting to local schemes, and enabling P2P payments on Apple phones.
• Expand iPhone sales (with payments and financing) to demographics and geographies with poor consumer credit facilities.
MacDailyNews Take: Sleep tight, Square, PayPal, etc.
I’ve always wanted to own and control the primary technology in everything we do. — Steve Jobs, October 12, 2004
Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!
Shop The Apple Store at Amazon.
Why no consideration/discussion per integration with BTC and linkage with Lightening Network is odd…considering Apple’s, supposed, going to where the puck is.
BTC? Lightening (sic?) Network?
Please explain…
Strike, working within the Lightning Network, utilizing Bitcoin as currency/medium of exchange is upending the long-held functionality of Visa, MasterCard, Western Union and other payment systems. Besides, it’s aiding countries where remittences are commonplace and minimizes the cost greatly.
It’s “test-bed” is El Salvador and is fairly quickly being implemented elsewhere. Rolf mentions “Shopify,” perhaps with knowledge, but it is one great example of a company that’s deploying the tech. Walmart and other biggies are likely to report same soon.
Jack Mallers is the inventor and there’s plenty of p-casts and youtubes where one can hear of the evolution/status. Mallers is working directly with Jack Dorsey for CashApp integration. A 60 Minutes preso with Mallers also tells part of the story.
It’s where the puck is going.
is Apple planning Shopify-like service?