The long-awaited new payment system, Apple Pay, is finally being rolled out today. This is certainly a huge thing for Apple, who has long resisted including NFC in its phones; but with the newest iPhones, it is now possible to use your mobile phone as a means of paying for your purchases. And, yes, at some point Apple Pay will change your life.
With the Apple Pay launch, you can now use your iPhone to pay for your Big Mac (large fries with that, please). You can also use your phone to make purchases at Whole Foods and Walgreen, along with about 220,000 stores nationwide.
However, many other retailers are not part of the Apple Pay launch, Wal-Mart being one of them. Knowing just how big this chain is, it leaves a huge gap in the system.
Additionally, if you only have debit cards (or you prefer to use them), you won’t be able to enjoy what Apple Pay has to offer. Company or retailer cards are not part of the system either. This means that Apple will be losing out on purchases simply because people do like using their proprietary reward cards.
The good news is that Apple is collaborating with some of the biggest credit card companies, including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. That should pretty much cover the cards that most people use. Add to that three more credit card companies and 500 other financial institutions by next year, the use of Apple Pay should then be more widespread.
So, yes, Apple Pay is surely going to be part of consumers’ lives starting today, and it will probably be a main mode of payment for iPhone users. However, given the considerations above, Apple Pay will not be an overnight success. But who says it has to be?
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