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Uber will pay drivers and couriers after every trip
Uber is making a bigger push into payments and financial services by setting up a division called Uber Money. Among the initiatives Uber has in store is paying its more than 4 million drivers and couriers after each ride. It plans to do so through its no-fee mobile bank account, which it's integrating into the Uber Driver app.
Apple Pay can be used for iTunes, App Store and Apple Book purchases
You can now use Apple Pay to make purchases from iTunes, the App Store and Apple Books. MacRumors spotted the change in a recently updated support document. The added Apple Pay options are coming to users in the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Russia, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates, but they might not be available in all of those locations just yet.
Apple Pay is now accepted at Target and Taco Bell
Some of the last holdouts on tap-to-pay services are finally hopping aboard. Target, Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Hy-Vee and Speedway have all introduced support for Apple Pay (and services like Google Pay by extension), making it trivially easy to check out when you need to run an errand or crave a Taco Supreme. The rollout will be gradual in some cases. Target expects all its 1,850 locations to support the technology in the "coming weeks," while Taco Bell and Jack in the Box expect to complete their deployments in the "next few months."
Amazon Go is the inevitable evolution of supermarket retail
Amazon's cashierless "Go" markets have popped up in San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago, promising patrons the "future of shopping": a frictionless grocery buying experience that relies on high-tech tracking technology instead of human interaction to get products off the shelves and into your canvas totes. This indeed may be the supermarket of the future, at least as Bezos envisions it, but not one that we couldn't have predicted. The development of the Go shopping experience is little more than the latest step in the logical evolution of retail.
CVS Pharmacy now accepts Apple Pay
Back in July, Tim Cook revealed that Apple Pay would finally be coming to CVS. And now it's finally happened: You can now use the payment method to purchase items at the popular drugstore chain.
Apple Pay and Google Pay can buy you a Slurpee at 7-Eleven
After years of holding out, 7-Eleven is finally ready to embrace tap-to-pay in earnest. The convenience store chain has followed through on earlier teasers by supporting Apple Pay and Google Pay at its US stores. "Most" American locations will support both formats by the end of September, and the company told Engadget that it technically started the rollout in August. You could already use Samsung Pay, but this expands the audience to virtually anyone craving a late-night snack.
Costco now accepts Apple Pay across the US
Next time you drop by Costco for some groceries or a (non-Polish) hotdog, you'll be able to check out using your iPhone or your Apple Watch. The membership-only wholesale retailer is done installing contactless payment terminals in the US, and in a statement sent to MacRumors, the company said all its 750 warehouses across the country can now accept Apple Pay, as well as Google Pay and Samsung Pay. An Apple representative has also confirmed to Engadget that you can now check out at Costco stores using Cupertino's mobile payment service.
Chase now offers phone-based withdrawals at 'nearly all' ATMs
It took a long, long time, but Chase's phone-based ATM withdrawals are finally widespread. The bank has expanded its card-free access to "nearly all" of its ATMs across the US, giving you one less reason to panic if you leave your wallet at home. As before, you can get in by tapping a device with a Chase debit or Liquid card linked to Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay, and then entering your PIN code. It's functionally equivalent to using your regular card, so you're not facing the usual limits that come with making tap-to-pay purchases.
Apple Pay comes to 7-Eleven and CVS later in 2018
Apple Pay is making its way to two of its fiercest opponents. As part of Apple's financial results call, Tim Cook revealed that both 7-Eleven and CVS would introduce support for the tap-to-pay service (and, by extension, equivalents like Google Pay) later in 2018. He also confirmed that Germany would offer Apple Pay by the end of the year. There wasn't any mention of how quickly it would roll out to the two retailers or why they'd changed their mind, but the news likely represents an admission of defeat for the two store chains.
eBay adds Apple Pay as a payment option
eBay is spreading its wings now that it has officially started transitioning to a non-PayPal payment system. This fall, it's adding Apple Pay as one of its first options on the new payment platform, giving people a way to purchase goods through eBay's mobile app or through its website on Safari using Cupertino's digital wallet. The option will initially be available to a small group of Marketplace customers given the chance to participate in the first phase of Apple Pay's rollout, so buyers won't be encountering it at every turn yet. eBay plans to move more people to the new payment platform next year, though, and aims to finish transitioning everyone to it by 2021.
Now The Church of England takes Apple Pay and Google Pay
What can a church do when its younger parishioners stop carrying coins they can toss into the donation box? In the Church of England's case, it's to offer high-tech collection plates that accept Apple Pay, Google Pay and SMS mobile payments. According to the BBC, the Church conducted a trial run of its modern collection method in 40 churches over the summer. Now, it's planning to launch the option in all 16,000 churches throughout England before the year ends, not just for donation collection, but also for collecting fees for weddings, christenings, concerts and funerals.
LG is launching its mobile payment system in the US this year
LG launched its mobile payment system in South Korea last June and Yonhap News reports LG Pay is finally on its way to the US. The US expansion is reportedly planned for sometime during the first half of this year and might be launched under a new name -- LG Wallet. Android Police actually spotted an LG Wallet app in the Play Store a few days ago, but it has since been removed.
Apple Pay Cash is available in iMessage to iOS 11.2 beta users
If you've been waiting like we have for Apple to finally launch its Venmo-like competitor after the release of iOS 11, now's the time. According to reports at TechCrunch and CNET, Apple is soft launching peer-to-peer money transfer via iOS 11.2 beta right in the Messages app.
Adidas’ first shopping app is also a personalized news feed
It's hard to believe that Adidas hasn't had its own shopping app, considering that we're living in the age of the smartphone. But that's all about to change. Today, the German sportswear giant is introducing its (aptly named) "Adidas" application, which will let iOS and Android users buy products without having to go to their web browser. Adidas says the app is designed to offer an experience tailored for every consumer, based on the type of gear you're into or the sports you play. The main idea is for you to have personalized product recommendations, and the more you use the app with your account, the better it'll be at knowing your taste.
Discover card users can redeem their points on Apple Pay
Apple Pay gives you many ways to pay for your purchases -- and now Discover's cashback bonus is one of them. Discover and Apple have teamed up to give you the ability to redeem your cashback points through the mobile payment app, so long as you can fulfill a set of requirements. You'll obviously have to add your Discover card to Apple Pay, download the Discover app, have a rewards balance higher than the amount of the item you want to purchase and, most importantly, you have to be using an iPhone 6 or later.
Tap your phone to withdraw cash from Wells Fargo ATMs
Wells Fargo enabled smartphone-only ATM withdrawals back in March, but the need to punch in both an app-specific code and your PIN partly defeated the convenience of the feature. As of now, though, it's decidedly easier: the bank has enabled NFC access at more than 5,000 of its ATMs across the country. As with Chase, you just have to tap your phone (using Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay) and enter a PIN code to start a transaction at a supporting machine. Suffice it to say this is considerably faster than entering two codes just to withdraw some cash.
Walmart’s app makes the return process easier
Walmart is adding another new feature to its app and this one aims to make returning items as painless as possible. Starting soon, when you need to return something, you'll first start the process on the app. Then head to a store, scan a QR code at the Mobile Express Lane, and hand the item to a Walmart associate. The refund will be back in your account in approximately a day.
Apple’s Venmo-like money transfers will arrive after iOS 11
A new payment service from Apple is set to launch sometime this fall through iOS 11 and watchOS 4 updates. Apple Pay Cash will allow Apple device users to transfer money between each other within Messages or through Siri.
NYC's Citi Bike adds Apple Pay to make bike-sharing easier
Next time you rent a Citi Bike in New York or New Jersey, you'll be able to pay with your iPhone. The latest update for the bike-sharing service's app adds support for Apple Pay, as spotted by AppleInsider. No, this isn't the most exciting update, but it does make using the app a little faster and easier for new users. From here on out, they won't have to stand idly on the sidewalk, fumbling with entering credit card info in the app just so they can take a quick ride to the JC Penny a few blocks away.
Apple starts removing Apple Pay from white nationalist sites
Apple has suspended support for Apple Pay on a handful of websites selling white-supremacy clothing and accessories, joining a cascade of technology companies currently cutting off hate groups online. Apple Pay no longer works on at least two websites selling clothes, bumper stickers and other items stamped with Nazi imagery and hate speech, Apple confirmed to Buzzfeed. One site sells a sticker depicting a car running down a group of people, complete with the words, "Nobody cares about your protest."
