Rumor: Apple Pay to premiere with iOS 8.1 rollout later this month

The rumor mill has it that iOS 8.1 will include the first incarnations of Apple’s anticipated Apple Pay feature come October 20th.

Per the coolest of cats at The Mac Observer and BankInnovation, Apple will reportedly release iOS 8.1 on October 20, and the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch operating system update will include Apple Pay support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The company launched iOS 8 in mid-September without Apple Pay mobile payment support, but Apple promised it would be enabled as part of an October update.

News of Apple’s plans comes from unnamed sources. Those sources also said Apple may have other big improvements in store for iOS 8.1.

iOS 8 offers tighter integration with the Mac — or it will when OS X Yosemite ships, presumably some time this month. The new OS version also includes an Extensions system that lets developers share features with other apps, support for third-party keyboards, a new Photos app with better image editing features, Family Sharing support for iTunes and App Store content, iCloud Drive support, and more.

Apple Pay is a new feature that lets iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners use their smartphone to make creditcard payments in stores. The system uses an NFC chip embedded in the phone along with Touch ID to complete transactions. Several major banks are already on board with Apple Pay support, and over 200,000 merchants around the United States have committed to the platform, too.

Apple released iOS 8 as a free upgrade for the iPhone 4s and newer, iPad 2 and newer, and fifth generation iPod touch.