Members of the tech community from Silicon Valley to Singapore have Sept. 9 circled on their calendars, jazzed about Apple’s ritual event that on this occasion is likely to yield a phablet-sized iPhone 6 and perhaps another, secondary announcement.

Although the much-ballyhooed iWatch debut is unlikely, the latest rumors point to a new mobile payment platform in the works, with the Cupertino, Calif., company said to be nearing a deal with American Express.

The AmEx deal was first reported by Recode citing unnamed sources –so it is essentially a rumor. However, this deal is one of several that Apple is said to be working to secure ahead of the iPhone 6 launch.

Apple has been in fruitful talks with Visa, according to reports. How an Apple mobile payment platform will function remains a mystery, as the notoriously secretive company has withheld even hints from leaking to the public.

Reports suggest it is likely to involve NFC technology and partnerships with retailers and payment processing firms. The idea is to make cash, plastic credit and debit cards unnecessary to make purchases or pay bills.

Like Amazon, Apple stores millions of credit card information in the form of iTunes’ customer accounts.

Since security of private information is an increasingly important aspect of online commerce, Apple is expected to integrate a fingerprint verification system with Touch ID, a feature that the iPhone 6 may inherit from its predecessors, according to reports.