Yahoo Finance Apple unveils ApplePay mobile wallet
Apple has unveiled a new mobile wallet aimed at allowing consumers to use iPhones linked to credit cards for more secure, convenient payments.
Apple chief Tim Cook said the ApplePay system would replace an "antiquated payment process" with "an entirely new payment system" that allows consumers to touch their phones to retail terminals.
The new payment system will be built into the new iPhones and Apple's operating system which were also unveiled Thursday.
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Cook said that each day in the United States alone "that's 200 million times that we scramble through our credit cards and go through what is a fairly antiquated payment process."
ApplePay is a cool concept but what I really want is an battery that lasts a full day.
— nicolette mason (@nicolettemason) September 9, 2014
He said other efforts have failed because the companies introducing mobile wallets were working on the basis of "their self-interest" instead of the user experience.
Cook showed a video of a consumer tapping a phone on a payment terminal, commenting, "it's so cool."
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How Apple Pay works
Apple Pay works with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus through a NFC antenna design, a dedicated chip called the Secure Element, and the security and convenience of Touch ID.
Apple says the service is easy to set up, and that users can simply add their credit or debit card on file from their iTunes Store account.
#applepay has convinced me to get rid of this thing #applelive pic.twitter.com/YDa90byPUb
— HYPEBEAST (@HYPEBEAST) September 9, 2014
Apple Pay will also work with the newly announced Apple Watch, extending Apple Pay to over 200 million owners of iPhone 5, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s worldwide.
Apple says the service will support credit and debit cards from the three major payment networks, American Express, MasterCard and Visa, issued by the most popular banks including Bank of America, Capital One Bank, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo, representing 83 percent of credit card purchase volume in the US.
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Online shopping in apps with iPhone will also be simple. Users can pay for physical goods and services including apparel, electronics, health and beauty products, tickets and more with Touch ID.
Checkout will also happen with a single touch, with no need to manually fill out account forms or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information, and card details are kept private and are not shared with the online merchant.
Starting in October, with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Pay will be available in the US as a free update to iOS 8. Apple Pay will work in stores with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch. Apple Pay APIs will be available to developers in iOS 8 so they can enable purchasing physical goods within their apps on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
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