Apple has introduced a rudimentary mobile payment system in Japan.
The system exposes the user’s iTunes account via a 2D barcode on a Passbook card, and allows users to carry a positive cash balance, much like a Starbucks account used through Apple’s Passbook app.
For now, the system can only be used to purchase apps and content through Apple’s iTunes and App Store, and deposits must be made in person at Apple Stores. Although the current system is quite limited, it marks a new step for Apple toward full mobile payments, and gives a peak of how such a system could work.
