Apple users will soon be able to send money through iMessage, using a virtual Apple Pay card. The new feature will be part of Apple's latest operating system, iOS 11. The system will recognise when a member of the chat says something like “you owe me £20”, and then prompt the recipient to make the payment. This isn't the first time that payments will be able to be made over the iMessage service – as it can also be done over apps such as Square and Venmo – but Apple's own payment integration is expected to gain the upper hand as they own the entire ecosystem. Any money that is sent across a chat will then be stored on an Apple Pay virtual card stored in your Wallet app, to then be either cashed into the user's bank account or used as payment anywhere where Apple Pay is accepted.
