Actually, there are movements already in place by carriers to do the same thing, with many of the larger carriers setting themselves up as banks with regulators

Actually, there are movements already in place by carriers to do the same thing, with many of the larger carriers setting themselves up as banks with regulators well in advance of this strategy. While Apple could introduce a complete payments solution in house (arguably they already have), it's still only in goods you'll buy from an apple platform, and if they gouge too much, it will open it up for disruption by someone else. Commerce and payments will always be tied to the frictionless exchange at the point of sale, and while iphones could easily transition into iwallets, the carriers currently have the upper hand, as they're sitting in the same position, and many are somewhat platform agnostic. There might be an app for this, but i'm not sure it's Apple's best play....yet.