Apple Pay : Cashless made effortless

What is Apple Pay ?

A digital wallet is a wallet which electronically stores your details to help make your transactions easier. It takes away the need to use a large, bulky, physical wallet and is more secure and convenient to use. Apple pay is such a wallet that is used for making transactions in Apple devices, such as Apple watches, iPhones, iPads, Macs etc.

It was initially released by Apple Inc. on October 20th 2014 by the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook. Apple Pay is available in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, China, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Georgia, Belarus, Serbia, Montenegro and all countries in the European Economic Area (EEA).

Photo Credit: Apple.com

How to use Apple Pay

Need to go to the movies? Have to check in for flights? Want to redeem vouchers? Use Apple Pay to go to the movies, redeem vouchers and so on. The steps to use this wallet are:

Open the app
Enter/check/correct your billing, shipping, and contact information on your Apple device
If you are new, fill in your billing, shipping, and contact information on your Apple device
Send the money flying to its destination after your confirmation.

Features

Apple Pay has many features. A handy feature is to send money via messages to the person you are chatting with. Just click the Apple Pay icon in an iMessage conversation and select the amount you want to pay. Finally, approve the payment with your Touch/Face ID. All done securely before you blink. Another feature is to ask Siri. For example, you can ask Siri “Ask Kim for 26 dollars with Apple Pay” and it will be done right before your eyes. It also has two-factor authentication. You can add Touch/Face ID authentications and Password authentication to the app. It uses NFC to make contactless payment.

The other features are:

In-App Transactions
Send & Receive Money
Web Store Transactions
Bank Account Transfer
Returns Processing
Touch ID Authentication
Face ID Authentications
Passcode Authentication
Rewards Program Integration
In-Store Payments

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

Secure

Stolen credit cards and stolen devices are like apples and oranges. If someone steals your device they cannot get your information so easily. You can track them down with FindMyDevice apps. You do not need to cancel all the cards. All you have to do is enable Lost Mode. As soon as your phone is found you can enable it once again. But the story will be totally different if you lose your credit card.

No more long Queues

A few people hate waiting a long time in queues. Why wait for hours and hours in the dreaded queues with cash or bank cards when you can use a wallet and check out efficiently in a matter of time?

Germophobe’s ideal payment method

It is a germophobe’s ideal payment method. You need not touch anything as it uses NFC, the technology that powers it.

Private

Apple Pay doesn’t store information and keeps your data private. However, Apple Pay Cash stores info for regulatory purposes.

No Internet Connection needed

You do not need internet connection to use Apple Pay. You just need to show your phone at the terminal and the rest will automatically be done for you.

Disadvantages

Limited models

Apple Pay is only supported in iPhone 6 and higher. For iPad users, only versions greater than iPad Air 2 can use it.

Your phone dies

If your phone dies, you can’t use anything (obvious). So, keep your battery high enough.

Not all places support Apple Pay

Not all places allow digital wallets. So, you anyway have to carry around your wallets. On the other hand, you anyway usually take your phone with you as well.

Bugs in new releases

What if you’re in the middle of a payment and there’s a new bug? The bug will ruin your payment, making you an unhappy customer. You may gain huge losses.