Aside from launching two new iPhones (the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus), the Apple Watch and the A8 and M8 processors, Apple also took the opportunity to introduce Apple Pay during its event held in Cupertino, California last September 9.
For those not in the know, Apple Pay is the phone maker giant's new mobile wallet. Apple is planning to roll it out on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices as early as October of this year.
Apple Pay is actually a combination of two mobile payment systems -- one wherein a user can pay for merchandise in a real-time setting (i.e. in an actual store, coffee shop, boutique, etc), and another in which a user pays for goods purchased online.
Not only content with merging the two aforementioned payment systems, Apple is also aiming to come up with a mobile wallet that both phone users and business establishments will actually want to utilize.
Most existing mobile payment systems today are more focused on the seller's side -- making sure payments are valid, credit credentials are solid, etc -- but not so much on finding a way to facilitate a great, hassle-free buying experience.
Apple Pay will try to change that. How exactly? By integrating with several readily available services and features on the iPhone and the entire Apple app arsenal. For instance, Apple will be joining forces with Passbook in order to store customers' credit cards. Then the company will utilize Touch ID to confirm the identities of users and actual presence in real-world transactions. On top of that, Apple will tap the credit card database it has and tag them to users' Apple IDs (what people use when purchasing from iTunes). And of course, Apple Pay will also be integrated with the recently launched Apple Watch.
And that is not all. Apple is also using a near-field communications (NFC) chip and other security hardware components for safely processing credit card information stored in the new iPhones. This way, transactions can be protected from fraud and identity theft.
Apple Pay will be partnering with more than 200,000 establishments in the United States, including well-known entities like Macy's, Subway, and McDonald's, just to name a few. Some of these partner companies should be able to starting using Apple Pay before the end of the year.
The launch of Apple Pay is a good move for Apple, and it is definitely proof that the company wants to grow its online buying capabilities beyond just its iTunes and app stores. The mobile manufacturing giant has also smartly collaborated with other e-commerce companies like Uber and OpenTable in order to put Apple Pay into use.
