[NewsPoster]

A report from anonymous sources suggests that Apple's rumored mobile payment system may have gained further merchant support in the form of drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens. The move would make it easy for customers to use their iPhone to pay for purchases at some 15,000 combined locations in the US, reports AppleInsider via Re/Code. They will be among other known and unknown retail partners to help launch the mobile payment system, which could be announced at the September 9 Apple press event.

Apple is also allegedly in talks with department stores such as Nordstrom and other large US retailers to support the system, which uses both Apple's iBeacon technology (itself a combination of Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi) and possibly Near-Field Communications (NFC) to allow a simple and secure way for merchants to accept mobile payments. Credit card companies such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express are said to already be on board, along with a number of major banks.