Apple Pay, the Cupertino’s entry into the payments arena, is expected to be launched next month in the US for iPhone 6 users, while the UK users will have to wait until next year.
In the US, Apple has tied up with some of the major banks, which account for would 83 percent of total US payment volume, for the service. It has also tied up with companies such as McDonalds, Subway, Whole Foods, Staples and Walgreens.
With Apple Pay, the iPhone 6 will have the credit card information stored on the phone. Users will have to just place the phone on the payment terminal and the terminal using the (new) near-field communication technology would scan the stored information. It would also require giving a fingerprint impression with the Touch ID technology and payment would be done.
But there are some concerns about the technology still, although Apple is confident and has assured that its technology is fool-proof. But, however, Touch ID was hacked barely 48 hours after its release.
These are said to be the reasons that has led to the “sluggishness” of the authorities in the UK, resulting in delayed launch. Pedro Sousa, Visa mobile head said they don’t have concrete dates for the UK launch of the service, but it might happen sometimes next year.
