Apple Pay

Tim Cook, who is in China this week to discuss Apple’s new environmental initiatives, spoke to Chinese media regarding his plans to further expand Apple services in the country. Speaking to news outlet Xinhua, Cook discussed a variety of topics, including his hope to launch Apple Pay in China and get a smartphone in the hand of every resident.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Pay continues its rollout across the US with a stop in Las Vegas. The Cosmopolitan resort has announced that Apple Pay will be accepted at the hotels’ front desk, restaurants and bars by early June. Room service can also be streamlined using Apple Pay, as the concierge service will also accept Apple Pay as a payment method. This means that you can pay with your iPhone or even your Apple Watch.

It’s unclear if you will be able to gamble directly with Apple Pay — most casinos limit chips purchasing to cash only transactions. Or if credit cards are accepted, the payments are marked as cash advances so there are no ways to turn quick money. It is not known if the establishment can or will support this kind of transaction through Apple Pay.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple has rolled out Apple Pay support for another 24 banks and credit unions following last month’s expansion reaching more than 200 in total. The newly added banks include more than a dozen banks and credit unions from around the United States including The Bancorp Bank which backs Simple, a popular online banking service. Here’s the full list of newly added Apple Pay banks:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Update: Home Depot says it plans to accept Apple Pay in the near future.

Home Depot appears to have quietly stopped accepting Apple Pay. Although never officially named as a partner, the company has supported contactless payment and Apple Pay used to work in at least some of its stores. An Apple support document updated last week lists Home Depot as one of the stores that “might not currently be set up” to accept Apple Pay.

The change appears to be related to Home Depot’s deal to accept PayPal as a payment method both in store and online … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

MCX, the merchant consortium behind the Apple Pay competitor known as CurrentC, has announced today that CEO Dekkers Davidson is being replaced by Brian Mooney. MCX has given Mooney the title of interim CEO, which makes it unclear as to whether the consortium is actively looking for another CEO to replace Dekkers Davidson or if Mooney is the permanent choice.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced today during the company’s earnings call that Best Buy will gain support for Apple Pay in its iOS app today and will begin accepting it in retail stores later this year. Best Buy’s decision is big news because the electronics chain was previously part of the coalition of companies working on the ill-received “Current-C” mobile payment system.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Discover announced today that it’s made a deal with Apple to join the other three big card companies already offering support for the company’s new payments service, Apple Pay. That means that starting this fall, Discover cardholders will finally be able to add their cards to the service and make contactless, NFC-based payments using iPhone and Apple Watch, as well as make payments within apps supporting the platform on all iOS devices.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Update: Apple has now uploaded today’s three new Guided Tour videos to YouTube, as well. They are embedded below.

Apple this evening has updated its Apple Watch Guided Tour webpage with three new videos. These new videos highlight Apple Pay, Activity, and Workout features of the Apple Watch.

The videos demonstrate the ability to pay via Apple Pay on your Apple Watch, track your daily activity with the Activity app, and set workout goals, regiments, and track heart rate via the Workout app.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Two weeks after the last wave of new banks and three days before the Apple Watch launches, Apple Pay support has gone live from 31 more banks and credit unions from around the United States. The total number of institutions now exceeds 200 banks and credit unions with active support, and some 2,000 banks have signed on to support the mobile payment system for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch in the future. Below you can find the latest additions to the list of active banks as well as the full list so far.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple is reportedly planning to launch Apple Pay in Canada, its first expansion of the payments service outside the U.S., this fall, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The company is reportedly in talks with banks for a launch as soon as November:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Even though the long-delayed Up3 isn’t shipping until later this month, Jawbone this evening has taken the wraps off of two new fitness trackers, the Up4 and the Up2. The latter is a replacement for the Up24 released in 2013, while the former is a new fitness tracker by the company. The Up4 most notably adds support for on-band wireless payments from American Express. Both watches pair with your iPhone over Bluetooth.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The launch of Apple Pay in China, originally expected to be part of iOS 8.3, has been delayed by stalled negotiations with both the state-owned card processor UnionPay and Chinese banks, reports MarketWatch. Developers had originally been told that iOS 8.3 would support UnionPay, but found that support was missing when the update rolled out last week.

A UnionPay employee who declined to be named said the company has not reached any agreements with the U.S. tech company, and no timetable for cooperation has been set […]

Those sources also say Apple has not made any breakthroughs in talks with Chinese banks, which would also have to agree for the Apple Pay system to work.

The banks are reportedly unhappy about the cut Apple takes from each transaction … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple this evening has added 10 new retailers to its Apple Pay site, bringing the total to 68 merchants highlighted on its website. Eddy Cue revealed earlier this year that Apple Pay was available in Oracle Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors, and Apple has officially added the arena to its site tonight. Apple also officially added the Amway Center and US Airways Center to the site, although both have previously supported Apple Pay.

Apple previously said contactless payment terminals at over 700,000 locations total support Apple Pay in the US.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple has added the next wave of support for Apple Pay from 39 banks and credit unions today bringing the total active institutions to over 180 banks. Here are the latest to support Apple Pay as well as the full list so far:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple CEO Tim Cook with IBM CEO Ginni Rometty

Through its MobileFirst for iOS initiative, Apple and IBM have added 8 new enterprise apps for designed exclusively for iPhone and iPad. The latest apps developed as part of the partnership between the two companies include two new industries: healthcare and industrial products. The 8 new apps brings the total of MobileFirst for iOS apps to 22, while the two new industries now totals 10 including banks, law enforcement, travel, and retail. Here are the latest iPhone and iPad enterprise apps from Apple and IBM.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Research shared by Phoenix Marketing International offers new data for Apple Pay‘s adoption and performance since it launched in the United States in October last year. The survey polled just over 3,000 credit cardholders to conclude that “11% of all credit card-owning households” and two out of three iPhone 6 users have used Apple Pay. Aside from a high adoption rate for the mobile payment service, the survey also highlights that almost half of those Apple Pay users have used the service just one time.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Image via Future Supplier

Some new photos posted by Future Supplier claim to show the leaked rear casing to the rumored “iPhone 6C.” Recent reports have said that the device will sport a 4-inch screen like that of the iPhone 5, 5C, and 5S, allowing it to appeal to those who prefer smaller displays over the larger iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

While the veracity of these shots has not been confirmed, there are some interesting details to note that could give us some more clues about the design of the rumored device.

Keep reading for photos and analysis…

Earlier this week, we noted that Apple has opened up a new web portal for business owners to order Apple Pay decals to promote their support of the service. Now, these stickers have begun arriving to those who have ordered. As can be seen in the image gallery below, the decal pack includes a placement guide, multiple stickers, and a tool to apply the stickers. Thanks, Michael.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Pay partner MasterCard used the PGA Tour kickoff in Phoenix earlier this year to promote Apple’s mobile payment service, and today MasterCard announced that Apple Pay will be accepted at the upcoming Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida. MasterCard says that almost all vendors at the golf event will accept Apple Pay and other contactless payment options for paying for merchandise and concessions.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple has added dozens of new banks and credit unions to its list of institutions that support its Apple Pay mobile payment service. The new banks include several credit unions from around the United States as well as Charles Schwab Bank, RBC Bank, and other notable additions. The more than 30 banks added today are rolling out ahead of next month’s Apple Watch launch which will support making Apple Pay payments in stores. Below is the list of newly added banks as well as the full list of banks and credit unions where Apple Pay is currently supported:
Expand
Expanding
Close