Apple’s Passbook, a new app that accompanied the release of iOS 6, has generated a lot of buzz as of late — not so much in relation to what it currently does, but rather its potential — the ability to dominate the mobile payments market in one fell swoop by connecting the 400 million active credit cards from the iTunes store to the new app.

Lo and behold, Apple is planning on testing that functionality in the immediate future by allowing consumers to make purchases at Apple Store locations through Passbook within weeks by adding the ability to upload Apple gift cards to Passbook. It’s a small step, but this could have gigantic implications.

Current Trends

Currently, the mobile payments industry is full of start-ups clamoring for big business contracts with major retailers like Square recently did with Starbucks.

When the iPhone 5 debuted last month, many thought that the non-inclusion of NFC technology could be construed as a death blow to utilizing that medium for mobile payments. Remaining options on the table include scannable QR codes and bar codes, which seem to be the path of Apple’s choosing.

Final Thoughts

If Apple were to connect the iTunes store accounts with Passbook, the amount of users immediately able to conduct transactions through their smart phones would jump so astronomically high that it would seem near impossible for any competitor to measure up.