Apple's iOS 8 Will Allow Online Purchases By Scanning Credit Cards

Since Apple (News - Alert) announced iOS 8 last week, there have been a number of reports about everything the operating system has to offer. Among the features that have been talked about is the use of VoLTE features, a fist for the iPhone (News - Alert). Another feature the operating system is said to be offering up is the ability for Safari users to scan a credit card with their mobile device’s camera. Once the scan has been made, users can make purchases online without having to actually enter the credit card numbers.

This isn’t a huge change from what Safari offers now. These days, when someone is making a purchase, online Safari already has a kind of auto complete. The Password & Autofills section of the browser holds the credit card info. iOS 8 will still allow that feature, but it will also be able select “scan card” when paying. Users will also be able to scan and save cards, even if they aren’t paying right away.

This means that people will actually have their credit card info stored on their phone’s browser. While the new feature will make it quite a bit easier to do its shopping, there also seem to be some serious security concerns coming down the pike. Apple has likely already noticed the security questions that are going to arise with this feature and it’s a safe bet the company will be working hard to make sure the information is plenty safe.

The good news for web developers is it doesn’t appear they will have to do anything to cooperate with this new feature. Those who know iOS 8 say Safari will be able to automatically detect where a credit card number is being requested. Once the detection has been done, it will simply present the option to scan the credit card above the keypad.