On Monday Apple launched its new Apple Pay program, which will replace looking through your wallet for a credit card with simply pulling out your iPhone to pay. To use Apple Pay at the over 220,000 retail locations that will be accepting this form of payment you must be an owner of the iPhone 6 or the 6 Plus. Some of these retail locations will include Macy’s, Chevron gas stations and Panera Bread. The major selling point of the Apple Pay is its convenience and security since no second hands such as waiters will have access to your credit card information.
To use it all you have to do is position your iPhone near one of the readers at the store, hold their finger on their Touch ID and you’re good to go. While other companies have tried similar ideas in the past, many believe that Apple will be able to change the mobile payment landscape for good. Will you be ditching your wallet at home to use Apple Pay the next time you head to Whole Foods?
UPDATE:
A recent article in Fortune states:
“Apple Pay debuted in 2014 as a way to let shoppers load their credit card and debit card information onto iPhones’ “mobile wallets.” Customers can then use either their iPhone (or linked Apple Watch) to pay at retail stores equipped with point-of-sale registers supporting near-field communication (NFC) technology, which allows for payments between smartphones and registers. Apple Pay users simply place their phones or watches near the registers’ sensors for payments without having to swipe a card.
The number of Apple Pay transactions in the latest quarter rose 450% from the same period a year ago, CEO Tim Cook said on Tuesday during a conference call with analysts about his company’s quarterly results.
The likely reason: Apple Pay expanded to a number of new international markets in 2016. It is now available in 15 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, China, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Russia.”
