Consumers in the US and Europe still like to buy things with debit and credit cards, but Apple isn’t giving up. As iPhone sales stall, the Cupertino-based company is looking to squeeze more profit out of services like payments. Among those efforts is its credit card, which is designed to reward customers more for using the mobile wallet than the flashy titanium payment card.

Perhaps the giant smartphone maker’s biggest advantage is its grip on the iPhone’s near-field communication (NFC) technology…

Apple’s decision to restrict access to NFC is clearly a strategic one, said Tim Derdenger, who teaches at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. The lack of access impedes startups as well as giants like Amazon, which operates Amazon Pay. “They don’t want rivals launching a wallet,” Derdenger said. “If they opened it up, it would mitigate their market position.”
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