According to two people with knowledge of the inner workings of a coming iteration of the Apple iPhone — although not necessarily the next one — a chip made by Qualcomm for the phone’s processor will also include near-field communication technology, known as NFC.
This technology enables short-range wireless communications between the phone and an NFC reader, and can be used to make mobile payments. It is unclear which version of an iPhone this technology would be built into.
via New York Times.