Recent patent filings by Apple have sparked rumors that the company is working on an electronic payment system and app, dubbed iWallet.

Filed on April 4th, the patent shows a method for conducting a financial transaction – the latest in a series of Apple patents for an electronic payment system.

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In 2010, Apple filed a patent for "a method for conducting a group transaction having a plurality of group transaction members on a handheld electronic device." And another application for "a method for authorizing a payment in a peer-to-peer transaction." Later that year, Apple also took a closer look at NFC payments in portable electronic devices.

However, this most recent filing describes a system that will "take a picture of a first code displayed on a transaction terminal using a camera of a portable electronic device; and sending data from the portable electronic device to the transaction terminal to conduct the financial transaction with the transaction terminal using a near field communication channel or another wireless communication channel."

According to the Apple-savvy website Patentlyapple.com, Apple’s latest patent applications reveal that they’re still working on the specifics, while getting closer to finalizing the iWallet project. Yet, the timing of its debut remains a mystery.

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