iPhone 6: Weibo User Reportedly Reveals Passbook Icon, Confirms Apple Mobile Payment Push?

Apple's big iPhone 6 unveiling is just three days away, and the purported leaks keep on coming. A Weibo user has uploaded a few photos, and video, of what is claimed to be a working iPhone 6, and one set of images includes a new Passbook icon, an application that stores mobile payment and ticket information, with a graphic for credit cards, reports 9to5Mac.

The 9To5Mac report is cautious about the photos, noting there are plenty of fakes using Android-based operating systems, saying, "This is either a really good fake, with meticulous attention to detail not seen before from Chinese fakes, or this is the real deal." The video uploaded by Weibo user zzRay is also pretty convincing, most notably in the transitions between screens.

If the iPhone 6 photos are real, the new Passbook icon would be another indicator of Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) push for mobile payments. Earlier reports indicated Apple was working with NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ: NXPI) to deliver near-field communication, NFC, to the iPhone 6, allowing the device to accept mobile payments and interact with other devices. For Apple, the iPhone 6 would be an easy entry into the mobile payment world and the tech giant could succeed where others have failed, thanks to changes in the industry and its massive user base.

For business, NFC adoption has been limited due to older credit card systems not accepting the option. A new upgrade in these systems will include an NFC option and businesses can establish new ways of accepting mobile payments. Most recently, McDonald's will begin offering a mobile payment app using NFC.