In a recently filed patent application, Apple proposes a new ecommerce system that uses a mobile phone to deliver targeted ads to users based on what they can actually afford, businessinsider.com reports. This new patent comes on the heels of another recent in-development project for creating and tracking ads based on social media content that goes viral.
Apple describes its new ad format as having a new improvement: only those advertisements for goods and services which particular users can afford are delivered to these users. The system tracks the status of customer credit or debit cards, monitors what the balance on them is and then targets ads based on what is actually affordable.
Further, the system proposes a billing/payment system for people who respond to the ads and who agree to be targeted with such ads, and a delivery method so users can click to buy and receive goods either digitally on their phones or physically at home. The system even proposes building in a percentage margin so that goods are only advertised if they are within 90% of a consumers balance, leaving 10% on the card.
In February, 2015, talking about Apple Pay, Tim Cook, CEO, said that card numbers used on Apple Pay are never stored in the device or servers, as each payment issued has attached a unique one-time code that is only good for that one transaction from that one device. As such, those transactions are not stored anywhere and, hence, data is available only between customers, the merchant, and the acquiring bank.
Apple is the owner of the largest collection of credit card numbers on the planet, approaching 1 billion accounts in 2014.
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