Apple Pay

[Foxbat]

I'm still kinda bummed that Apple isn't supporting the iPhone 5s for making ApplePay online purchases. I'm still crossing my fingers that Apple adds this in a future release of iOS.

 

[navychop]

Holding your breath?

Not sure the HW supports it. Pretty darned sure it doesn't.

Sorry.

I have an iPhone5. 6+ on order. My $200 trade in voucher just expired. If they don't honor it, I might reject the order.

 

[Ilya]

You bring up passbook and select the card if you like, then touch the iPhone to the pad and the charge appears on your iphone and you then touch the fingerprint reader to approve. If you are trusting you can have your finger on the fingerprint reader as you touch the pad and it takes less than a second to do the transaction.

I didn't even have to bring up Passbook.

 

[Ilya]

I thought all Visa and MasterCard were good to go regardless the bank?

No, just specific banks. And not even all types of accounts in those banks. I read somewhere that corporate accounts are not supported yet.

 

[Ilya]

I'm still on 7. Any recommendations to hold off or dive in on 8.1 for an iPhone 5 and an iPad 3? It seemed the original 8 was best left alone.

I would wait a week or two.

 

[Ilya]

Holding your breath?
Not sure the HW supports it. Pretty darned sure it doesn't.
Sorry.

iPhone 5s has Touch ID and it has Secure Enclave. And you don't need NFC for on-line transactions. So, it looks like all the hardware needed for on-line Apple Pay transactions is already present on iPhone 5s. So, why is iPhone 5s not yet enabled for Apple Pay? The answer is very simple: Apple wants to increase its iPhone 6 sales!

Although Apple Pay can become a good source of revenue in the long run, Apple is not going to make much money from these transactions in the first year or two. But I am sure Apple views its Apple Pay as a killer app that can help increase the sales of iPhone 6, 6+, the new iPads and the Apple Watch too. And that's why I think Apple is in no rush to enable this feature on iPhone 5s.

 

[Foxbat]

Holding your breath?

No, crossing my fingers. I wouldn't want to pass out and miss all the fun!

Not sure the HW supports it. Pretty darned sure it doesn't.

My post wasn't clear. I said "the iPhone 5s" when I should have said "my iPhone 5s" to indicate a single 2013 iPhone 5s, the one with the TouchID. I know I don't have the NFC chip to enable the ApplePay at the terminal, but it would be nice to be able to use the online version of ApplePay verifying with the TouchID I do have.

So, why iPhone 5s is not yet enabled for Apple Pay? The answer is very simple: Apple wants to increase its iPhone 6 sales!

Although Apple Pay can become a good source of revenue in the long run, Apple is not going to make much money from these transactions in the first year or two. But I am sure Apple views its Apple Pay as a killer app that can help increase sales of iPhone 6, 6+, the new iPads and the Apple Watch too. And that's why I think Apple is in no rush to enable this feature on iPhone 5s.

I would argue that ApplePay would be more likely to succeed if you have a much larger installed base who could take advantage of it. Apple said they sold 10 million 6 & 6+ phones in the first weekend. Let's be generous and say there are 20 million world-wide now. ApplePay is reported to work around the world if you use the US regional setting in your iPhone 6/6 plus, so that helps.

However, there are close to 100 million iPhone 5s phones out there that have the necessary TouchID to support the online pay. I think Apple would be able to say to the banks, "look how many potential users we have for ApplePay." 120 million is a bigger number than 20 million...

 

[Ilya]

However, there are close to 100 million iPhone 5s phones out there that have the necessary TouchID to support the online pay. I think Apple would be able to say to the banks, "look how many potential users we have for ApplePay." 120 million is a bigger number than 20 million...

For the sake of the argument, let's assume that a hundred million iPhone 5s users would each spend $100 in Apple Pay purchases in the first month or two. (I doubt that would be the case, but let's assume that.) As I understand, Apple's take from $100 is just 15 cents. So that would be about 15 million dollars total. A drop in the bucket for Apple. Now compare that to the profits resulting from an increase in iPhone 6 sales. Even a 1% increase in sales will bring more money than Apple Pay on all iPhone 5s phones out there!

Perhaps down the road, but I doubt Apple will enable Apple Pay for iPhone 5s in the next few months. Other than via Apple Watch!

 

[Foxbat]

Yeah, granted Apple makes more selling new iPhones. My coworker has let me play with his iPhone 6 plus and I'm sure that if I upgrade, it wouldn't be the 6 plus I get. So that's $749 for an unlocked 64 GB iPhone 6 on T Mobile.

Unfortunately, I just found out I "need" to buy a new MacBook to replace my Mid-2011 MacBook Air which won't do all the nifty Yosemite tricks because Apple decided it couldn't, even though it has the BT 4.0le chip. And I'm still trying to decide which iMac to buy to replace my 2006 MacPro 1.1. Don's stock's going up, up, up, and that's just my household!

 

[Neutron]

Look at the Mac OSX thread in the computer zone. Rocky posted a link to a site that has a script to enable Handoff on BT 4.0 Macs.

 

[mike123abc]

Perhaps they are aiming to boost watch sales since the 5s will work with the watch for NFC payments.

 

[Ilya]

I stopped at a Subway today - no Apple Pay terminal. I guess not all locations are equipped yet.

 

[TheForce]

I'm about 6 months away from an iphone 6 and hopefully an Apple watch will be out by then. I won't get one without the other. All this should shake out by then. Glad you guys are early adopters. Funny, Google Wallet has been out for quite awhile and no excitement but Apple announces Apple Pay and merchants and banks all over are getting on board. Reminiscent of the first iphone introduction, after I owned an HP ipaq for 3 years.

 

[Ilya]

Funny, Google Wallet has been out for quite awhile and no excitement but Apple announces Apple Pay and merchants and banks all over are getting on board.

Isn't that how Apple always does it? Waits for the market to develop and for technology to mature, and then comes big and grabs the cake!
Apple's marketing is way better! And banks and merchants are well aware of that too!

Also, Apple Pay is arguably more secure than Google Wallet: it relies on biometrics, not a pin code, and the tokens are generated with secure hardware within the phone itself, not in the Cloud like with Google Wallet.

Sent from my iPad Air 2 using Tapatalk HD

 

[mike123abc]

Apple is not just marketing... They have done a really good job waiting for the right combination of features to be developed and they integrate them well into something that is essentially more than a sum of its parts which people then realize it was what they wanted all along. There were mp3 players, but Apple waited until they had a backend iTunes to tie to it to make it a big success with the iPod. There were smartphones, but Apple waited until they could have a keyless interface for the iPhone, etc. Now they have combined a fingerprint reader, NFC and credit cards into Apple Pay.

 

[Ilya]

Yesterday I stopped at Rite Aid for some essentials and I was pleasantly surprised to see NFC terminals at all registers! So, I tried paying with my Apple Pay. First, my phone was accepted: I heard the confirmation beep. But then the cashier told me that the payment has been declined because unfortunately they do not accept Apply Pay...

As I understand, the only reason why Rite Aid doesn't want to accept Apple Pay is because it pledged allegiance to a competing non-NFC form of payment to be released in the near future: CurrentC. So, let me get it straight: you have the NFC terminals, you are hooked up to the network, you have all equipment to accept Apple Pay and you refuse to do it as a matter of principle?!! Don't you hate it when someone does something like that?! I mean, I can understand vendors who are hesitant to invest in a new technology and are sitting on the fence, but if you have all the equipment already in place, why not use it?! And no, I don't think that would violate the MCX (CurrentC) agreement, as some other merchants (like Target) have agreed to support both forms of payment.

Anyway, I returned my purchase, and told the manager that I am no longer going to be shopping at Rite Aid! Until they start accepting Apple Pay, my business goes to Walgreens. I'll vote with my wallet! I know, my voice is not going to make much difference, but if enough people do the same, perhaps someone in the Rite Aid HQ will get the message.

I then stopped at McDonalds and purchased a Big Mac meal with my Apple Pay! I haven't been to McDonalds in months, but I guess it is a matter of principle now! I am an early adopter and my business goes to those vendors who are not afraid to try a new technology. I don't know if Apple Pay will succeed (I think it will, but that's not guaranteed yet) and honestly I have nothing against CurrentC. But let the customers decide what they like! Don't make it an executive decision!

Ilya

 

[md_paul]

I stopped at a Subway today - no Apple Pay terminal. I guess not all locations are equipped yet.

Did they have a modern pinpad? My local Subway's pinpad doesn't have the extra NFC antenna on top. It doesn't even have any printed indication that NFC is an option. It looks like a non-NFC pinpad, but it appears the antenna is integrated behind the screen. I placed my phone on the screen and Apple Pay worked. The Pinpads at my local BJ's Warehouse store are like this too. You wouldn't immediately know that NFC is an option by looking at the pinpads. No NFC symbols, no signs. However, if you put your iphone against the screen, Apple Pay works.

7-11's in my area used to have pinpads with big NFC readers on top, and I used to always use my NFC chipped credit card. About a year ago, they replaced them with pinpads that I though did not have NFC technology. The NFC credit card stopped working. However, I noticed the other day that if I put my iphone near the pinpad at 7-11, the pinpad keboard lights up. Nothing else happens, and the pinpad goes dark if I move my phone away. It doesn't appear that NFC is turned on, but the PinPad seems to be aware that an NFC devices is nearby.

 

[Ilya]

Did they have a modern pinpad?

Not sure. Probably not. It had a small display showing a 2-dimensional barcode, but it didn't have the NFC logo. The guy at that Subway was clueless about Apple Pay, but offered me to try. I waived my phone above the pay terminal while keeping my finger on the fingerprint reader (the way I did it at Walgreens): no confirmation beep.

 

[klang]

Finally used mine this morning at Whole Foods. They had a sign at the entrance advertising that they were accepting Apple Pay. Same pinpad as before but now it has a little Apple sticker on it. Took a while for it work though. I might not have been holding it close enough.

I waived my phone above the pay terminal while keeping my finger on the fingerprint reader (the way I did it at Walgreens): no confirmation beep.

Are you supposed to be prompted for the fingerprint or do you do that first? The cashier didn't know either.

 

[md_paul]

. Took a while for it work though. I might not have been holding it close enough.




Are you supposed to be prompted for the fingerprint or do you do that first? The cashier didn't know either.

I usually just rest the phone on the pinpad screen or reader and the phone "lights up" with my credit card image. I suspect waving it might make reception more difficult. If you have your finger already on the fingerprint reader, it will light up and immediately pay with your default credit card. If you wait for the credit card image to appear without your finger on the reader, it will prompt you to place your finger on the reader, but you will also have the option of choosing another of your credit cards before using the fingerprint reader. (provided you have more than one credit card entered in passbook).