Apple may introduce p2p payment to iMessage with Siri
Apple may introduce p2p payments to iMessage using Siri, according to a recent  patent. iOS's virtual assistant will be able to carry out various tasks in the messaging app, including payments, accessing users' calendars and weather information, a patent released by the US Patent and Trademark Office indicated. To make payments, Siri will identify financial applications on the devices used by the users participating in the iMessage conversation and then prompt a user to choose one for making the transaction.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed with texting, and wished you had some help? Worry no more, Apple has you covered in its newest patent, which may bring Siri — iOS’s virtual assistant — to iMessage.

The new functionality will allow Siri to perform various tasks in the iMessage app, such as providing directions, accessing participants’ calendars, and even allowing for P2P payments, according to the patent released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week.

When prompted, Siri will be able to identify “a set of financial applications installed on both the first client device and a second client device that are capable of completing the financial transaction.” The virtual assistant will then ask the user to pick which application to use for completing the transaction. Here’s how it looks in action:

The example above shows that Siri suggests users to pick the “Cash” option for that particular transaction. It seems that Apple Pay could come into play, too. Could we soon see an Apple-branded Venmo rival? The current patent was first filed last year, and still has to go through layers of approval before its introduced to consumers.

The full list of Siri’s in-app functionality include “scheduling a meeting, performing a financial transaction, determining an estimated time of arrival, providing directions, providing weather information, alerting a user of relevant information, etc.,” according to the patent.

