Page 68 - Pay Magazine s2014

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digital money
The Apple Pay Effect
How Apple’s NFC move triggered
a cascade of m-payments development.
When Apple Inc.’s NFC- based Apple Pay mobile payments service rolled out last fall, it grabbed the pub- lic’s attention in a way that had eluded previous m-payments launches. Consumers instantly understood the easy process of adding an existing payment card to Apple’s newest iPhone, includ- ing the automatic launch of the handset’s wallet app when it’s near the POS, and the biometric security provided by a fingertip on the phone.
Voilà: Apple Pay quickly became the coolest new way to pay.
The concept generated unprece- dented consumer buzz on a national scale, achieving some- thing new in m-payments: Apple Pay immediately began to build scale with a small—but fast- growing—base of its iPhone 6 users that continues expanding. Apple Pay likely will get another boost this year from the new Apple Watches that support the m-payments service through a
By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor