Apple teaming with Visa, MasterCard on iPhone wallet

Apple plans to turn its next iPhone into a mobile wallet through a partnership with major payment networks, banks and retailers. The agreement includes Visa, MasterCard and American Express and will be unveiled on September 9 along with the next iPhone.

The new iPhone will make mobile payment easier by including a near-field communication chip. That advancement along with Touch ID, a fingerprint recognition reader, will allow consumers to securely pay for items in a store with the touch of a finger. For Apple, the push into creating a mobile wallet is to keep users within its ecosystem, thus creating more demand for its products.

The move is also about generating more revenue from the roughly 800 million global iTunes accounts, which include payment information, that have already been created.