Apple Wants to Help You Split the Check With iMessage

Forget about having to use a separate payment app

Silicon Valley giant Apple announced a slew of new software features at its annual World Wide Developers Conference this week. One of the biggest innovations, at least for people who like dining at restaurants where separate checks are frowned upon, is peer-to-peer money transfers in its messaging service. Business Insider reports the company is working with Square to allow P2P payments through iMessage.

The technology will let users send money through Square Cash, according to BI, just like a text. The idea is to boost iMessage as a competitor to some third-party messaging apps, which already allow money transfers. The upgrade is part of iOS 10, the newest edition of Apple's mobile operating system, which will be released to the public this fall.

Payments through iMessage are another in a long line of innovations Apple has come up with to make life easier for people at restaurants — and to make Apple products more essential. AppleWatch users can order a Domino's pizza with a quick tap to their wrist, and Apple Pay allows restaurant patrons to pay for orders with a quick wave of their iPhone.

Google, Apple's chief tech rival, has been trying to make its products seen as necessities in other ways. Among those, Google Maps offers users restaurant recommendations, and last year the company unveiled a search feature that will let you know when a restaurant is overcrowded.

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