Apple (AAPL.US) opening its near-field communication (NFC) technology to US third parties may open the door to touch payments for Venmo, a PayPal (PYPL.US) subsidiary, according to analyst Dan Dolev of RBC Capital Markets. He noted that US consumers are very interested in the feature.
Earlier this week, Apple (AAPL.US) announced a settlement with the EU antitrust regulator, agreeing to open its NFC to US third parties, such as PayPal. Previously, Apple only allowed iPhone users to use Apple Pay to pay in stores and online.
In addition, Mr. Dolev added, “We estimate that 40% of Venmo’s funding mix is through stored value, which is zero cost for PayPal, so it can increase the margin.”
Last month, eBay (EBAY.US) announced it would add PayPal’s Venmo as a checkout option.
PayPal rose 1.85% on Thursday, while Apple fell 2.32%.