CUPERTINO, Calif. – As with any announcement from Apple, rumors and theories have abounded in the lead-up to today’s big event. While most of the talk is focused on the potential iWatch and iPhone 6, over at lowcards.com, Bill Hardekopf is thinking about the payment angle for these new products. Numerous sources have reported that these new devices could have an NFC chip and be an integral part of a new mobile payment system that Apple is getting ready to launch.

According to Hardekopf, this could be the biggest revolution in financial payments since the credit card was introduced in 1946, and could be the beginning of the end for plastic credit cards.

Up to now, says Hardekopf, the opportunities to use mobile payments are few and far between as there has been no unifying factor to convince merchants to accept mobile payments and no common payment system. Enter Apple (and its devices), who may have figured out the key to a universally-accepted mobile payment system. Reports are widespread that Apple has worked out an agreement with MasterCard, Visa and American Express to introduce a simpler, more secure mobile payment system that will work with the iPhone and/or iWatch.

So we have one of the world's most recognizable brands, creating the most convenient and secure payment method, placing it on your wrist or smartphone, and then building a network to accept those payments that will be less expensive for retailers to implement. This truly could be the beginning of the end to the plastic credit card.