On September 9, 2014, Apple had introduced to the world their latest iPhones – iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Along with the two new hardwares, Apple also introduced a new software, that they believe would change the way the world functions. Announced over a month ago, the Apple Pay kicked in for the first time today, October 20, 2014.
With Apple Pay, users would be able to buy goods and services by paying with their iPhones. The digital wallet system introduced by Apple seeks to do away with the use of credit cards. The technology will use near-field-communications (NFC) to transfer fund from the iPhone.
The use of a finger print for authentication might also appeal to a lot of users. Through the Apple Pay, customers information is more secure than it is when using a credit card since Apple generates a unique ID for each transaction. This way, none of the customer’s card details are shared with the merchant.
In order to make this happen, Apple partnered with the three biggest credit card issuing companies in America – Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
However, there are a few potential issues with Apple’s digital wallet.
- If users do not own an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, they will not be able to use Apple Pay.
- While Apple claims that over 220,000 retail stores in the US will support payment through Apple Pay, there still are around 6 million other stores that do not support it. Big retailers like Walmart and Best Buy do not support Apple Pay and instead, are currently developing a competing app for Android and iOS both.
- There are several discounts that people receive using their credit cards, but none with Apple Pay.
Unless Apple can tackle these issues, it seems unlikely that the digital wallet will take off really. Everyone will be waiting to see what changes Apple makes in the future to make mobile wallets a success.
