With Apple Pay, iPhone users hold their phones up to near-field communication (NFC) terminals, hold their finger onto the device’s fingerprint sensor and the transaction is completed wirelessly. The NFC hardware is included near the top of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, a larger model the company also announced.
With Apple Pay, iPhone users’ payment information is stored with software encryption in the company’s Passbook app. Credit-card numbers are never transmitted to a merchant who accepts the wireless payments. Instead, Apple Pay sends a one-time payment number and security code, the company said. Credit cards can be added by taking a picture of one with an iPhone to add it to Passbook.
In the US, Apple said that major credit card companies such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express are all on board. Citibank, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, and Wells Fargo were all announced as partners. On the retail side, McDonalds will be adding Apple Pay to its drive-thrus, and Whole Foods grocery stores and Staples are participating.
Other feature announced include the “Find My iPhone service which enables people to suspend their payments via this service in case they lose their iPhone. The company also announced that it was opening up its iPhone fingerprint sensor tech, Touch ID, to third-party applications like personal-finance service Mint.com. Touch ID had previously only worked with purchases in the official App Store.
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