make payments from a smartphone

The all-wise Wikipedia says: "Near field communication (NFC) is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few inches." I learned today that:

1. Andriod phones make the most of this technology to allow one to make a payment for food at a McDonald's across Bluetooth from a smartphone.
2. This does not exist in iPhoneland. Apple is supposedly working on something called iBeacon instead per: this