New Delhi: Apple's new electronic payments service will launch on Monday, after the iPhone maker signed up another 500 banks to support a feature that competes with eBay's PayPal and other online systems.
With Apple Pay, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners will be able to make payments at brick-and-mortar stores by holding their phone near a card reader. The new iPhones have a wireless chip to transmit the information needed to complete the transaction. Owners of older models won't be able to use Apple Pay, even with the software update.
Consumers will be able to use their phone cameras to capture a photo of their cards. Apple will verify it behind the scenes and add it to the phone's Passbook account so people can make payments at a retailer.
Apple has already announced several merchants that will accept this system, including Macy's, Whole Foods, Walgreens and Disney stores. American Express, Visa and MasterCard all are cooperating with Apple, too, as well as most major banks.
For security, the card number is stored only on the device. Each time you pay, a one-time card number is created to make the transaction.
The introduction of the new payment service comes at a time when the US mobile payments market is expected to see steep growth: Forrester Research forecasts US mobile payments will reach $90 billion in 2017, a 48 per cent increase from 2012.
According to a Bloomberg report, Apple will charge fees from banks every time consumers use their iPhone to make purchases, a move that will give the company a cut of the growing mobile payments market.
CEO Tim Cook, speaking at Apple's October 16 event, also said developers were beginning to design apps for its upcoming Watch.
(With inputs from agencies)
Comments
0 comment