At today's media event that saw the debut of new iPads and a new Retina iMac, Apple announced that its Apple Pay mobile payments solution will launch on Monday, October 20 alongside iOS 8.1, which will enable the service. According to Apple, more than 500 additional banks have signed on to support Apple Pay, as have dozens of additional retailers.
In store payments with Apple Pay will require the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, as they both include NFC chips, and the Apple Watch will also be able to be used to make in-store payments when it launches.
The iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus, the iPhone 5s, and the newly released iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 can make online purchases with Apple Pay in apps that support it.
"Our team has worked incredibly hard to make Apple Pay private and secure, with the simplicity of a single touch of your finger," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "The reaction to Apple Pay has been amazing. We continue to add more Apple Pay ready banks, credit card companies and merchants, and think our users will love paying with Apple Pay."
Apple places a heavy emphasis on security with Apple Pay, and the company's Apple Pay press release once again points out that Apple Pay does not store actual card numbers, replacing them instead with a Device Account Number in the Secure Element, pairing them with a one-time use code that verifies each payment along with Touch ID.
Apple Pay protects personal information by preventing stores from seeing a user's credit card number, name, and more. It also does not collect transaction information, keeping transactions between the user, the merchant, and the user's bank.
Credit cards and debit cards from the three major payment networks, American Express, MasterCard, and Visa, are supported by Apple Pay, and several banks, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Capital One, and more have signed up to partner with Apple on the payments initiative.
Apple Pay will be accepted at any retail location that can take contactless payments, and in addition, Apple has signed up with specific retailers like Whole Foods, Macy's, Sephora, Staples, and more, to ensure Apple Pay will be accepted in those stores. A number of retailers have also signed up to accept Apple Pay payments within their apps, including Target, Uber, Panera Bread, Lyft, and more.
Apple Pay will be available in the United States beginning on Monday, October 20, following the release of iOS 8.1. Apple suggests that prospective Apple Pay users contact their banks to determine their card's Apple Pay eligibility, as some banks may not support all card types.
