Hands-On First Impressions of Apple's New Payment Initiative, Apple Pay

Alongside the Apple Watch and iPhone 6, Apple today unveiled Apple Pay, its mobile payments initiative that allows users to pay for items either by waving their iPhone or Apple Watch at a checkout counter or by using Touch ID after clicking the Apple Pay button in an app like Uber. Following that event, Apple invited members of the press to try out the new payment service with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

According to The Verge, the system worked "remarkably smooth" and was the "smoothest payment system" they've seen. They note that Touch ID adds a "real sense of security" and that the entire process is cohesive. However, they do wonder whether it'll work the same in the opening months of the service when retailers are adjusting to the process and the software is in early days.

The phone was loaded up with a handful of credit cards, and holding the top of the phone about an inch from the card reader with my thumb on the TouchID home button triggered a payment from the default card in about five to 10 seconds. If you want to use a different card, just leave your finger off the home button and you'll see a Passbook-style card stack at the bottom of the screen, which you can tap on to bring up the full list and pick the card you want. Then you just put your finger on the reader and you're good to go.

Slashgear agrees that the process is "pretty darn easy", noting that using the iPhone to pay for something is far more of a swift experience than pulling out a credit card, swiping it, and typing in a pin or signing a receipt. Users can add credit cards to Apple Pay by taking a photo of their card.
applepay


Setup involves either granting Apple Pay access to whatever existing credit card you have on file with iTunes or adding a second card: you can do that by taking a photo of the card itself. We've seen the same system used in Uber's app, among others, and generally it does a solid job of recognizing characters.

In an interview with ABC's David Muir, Tim Cook commented that Apple Pay is "incredibly safe" and that Apple is setting a high bar with Apple Pay. Cook went on to say that "it's the most secure thing out there" when told by Muir that some people's confidence in the company's security might be shaken after celebrities iCloud accounts were hacked.



Muir also asked Cook whether he thought Apple killed the credit card with the announcement of Apple Pay. Smiling, Cook replied that Apple "stuck a dagger in it". The Apple CEO finished his interview by noting that components from either the iPhone 6 or Apple Watch were built in 22 of the 50 states in America.

Apple Pay will roll out to 222,000 retail locations across the country. The service will launch next month as a part of iOS 8.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch 10, Apple Pay
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Air Colors Thumb 2

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air Rumored to Come in These 9 Colors

Friday July 11, 2025 12:30 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will be available in a total of nine color options, according to new information coming out of Asia. The iPhone 17 Air's expected color options. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean blog Naver, accessory manufacturers are now producing camera protector rings for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air in colors to match their...

Top Rated Comments

gmanist1000 Avatar
142 months ago
how so? I would avoid using it until Apple proven their security... with recent iCloud hack... I trust Apple even less... especially with all these private info...

iCloud wasn't hacked, their passwords were guessed.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
3282868 Avatar
142 months ago
I'm sure Jennifer Lawrence can't wait to get her credit card info into iCloud :p
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ptb42 Avatar
142 months ago
I'm sure Jennifer Lawrence can't wait to get her credit card info into iCloud :p

Your or her credit card info won't be in iCloud.

http://www.apple.com/iphone-6/apple-pay/

Every time you hand over your credit or debit card to pay, your card number and identity are visible. With Apple Pay, instead of using your actual credit and debit card numbers when you add your card, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element, a dedicated chip in iPhone. These numbers are never stored on Apple servers. And when you make a purchase, the Device Account Number alongside a transaction-specific dynamic security code is used to process your payment. So your actual credit or debit card numbers are never shared with merchants or transmitted with payment.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
McCool71 Avatar
142 months ago
the implementation is revolutionary

Maybe in the US.

I saw people use their phones (probably NFC or something similar) to pay for all kinds of things when I visited Japan in 2011. Don't know if it was only for smaller purchases though, but it surely made the queue and payment at newspaper stands, snack bars and such move at a pace I have never seen in the US.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chatter Avatar
142 months ago
how so? I would avoid using it until Apple proven their security... with recent iCloud hack... I trust Apple even less... especially with all these private info...

Totally understand but from what I have read, the celebs had lousy passwords. It doesnt matter what level of security Apple (or anyone) implements, if the user chooses a simple/easy password.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gugy Avatar
142 months ago
I love this feature
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)