iPhone 5 & iPad 2 to Have NFC e-Wallet?

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NFC hasn’t gained traction in the mobile world yet, but with Apple apparently interested in including an e-wallet system in upcoming iPhone smartphones and iPad tablets, will we soon see the rise of tap-to-pay systems?

Near-field communication (NFC) works through very short range transfer of information. This can be useful when sharing contact information, activating Bluetooth over the air, and making on-site mobile payments. Some social networks are also implementing NFC as a method of checking in at a place or sharing information on a real-world tagged item.

With a recent patent filing by Apple, an e-Wallet icon is seen as appearing on Springboard illustrations, alongside other internal iPhone (or iPad?) apps. This is suggestive of a few things. For one, will Apple be implementing a payment system of sorts, with users’ e-wallets residing in their iTunes or other Apple account? Secondly, this might indicate that Apple is interested in implementing NFC on its upcoming iPad 2 and the future iPhone 5. This might make mobile payments a bit more popular, given the iPhone and iPad’s market share and mindshare among consumers.