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Every NYC subway station now supports contactless payments
New York's MTA has added OMNY contactless payments to every subway station and bus line in all five boroughs.
Apple Pay and the App Store are under EU antitrust investigation
The European Commission has launched two separate antitrust investigations into Apple, focused on the App Store and Apple Pay. The Commission said it had completed a “preliminary investigation” and found “concerns” that discouraged competition against Apple’s own services.
Opera now supports in-browser crypto purchases with Apple Pay
Opera has just made it a bit easier to purchase cryptocurrency. The browser -- which was the first to include a built-in crypto wallet -- is now letting users in the US and Scandinavian countries buy Bitcoin and Ethereum using a debit card or Apple Pay.
Apple's tap-and-go Express payments come to London public transport
Paying for daily necessities using your phone might feel like the future, but the reality can sometimes be slower as mobile payments require authentication that can take time to approve. To combat this issue, Apple has brought its Express feature to London, making it far quicker and easier to use Apple Pay on services like the Tube.
Tech companies won’t become banks, but they’ll pretend to
Silicon Valley has already eaten plenty of industries, from camera and newspaper businesses to watches and even flashlights. Now, Big Tech appears to be turning its attention to banking. But don't expect Facebook or Google to launch their own banks. According to the experts, this sudden play for financial services is about your loyalty, not their competition.
Tim Cook: Apple Pay transactions doubled year-over-year
Aside from revealing that its wearables and services businesses keep on growing, Apple has also discussed its mobile payment app's success and its partnership with the US Census Bureau during its earnings call. Tim Cook, the tech giant's chief, said users completed 3 billion Apple Pay transactions within the fourth quarter of 2019. He added that Apple Pay had a bigger transaction volume than PayPal and is growing 4 times as fast, because the mobile app's transactions and revenue more than doubled year-over-year.
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 is more popular than Starbucks for US mobile payments
For a while, the most popular payment app in the US was... Starbucks. Yes, enough people were buying venti lattes that even dedicated payment services were being left by the wayside. You can't say the same now, though. Analysts at eMarketer have estimated that Apple Pay will be more popular than Starbucks' payments in the US, with 30.3 million iPhone owners using the tap-to-pay option in 2019 versus Starbucks' 25.2 million. The alternatives aren't likely to come close, apparently. Google Pay should have 12.1 million users, while Samsung Pay is poised to have 10.8 million users.
How to pay for things securely
We are essentially a cashless society. With the rise of debit cards in the late 1980s early '90s, fewer and fewer of us use paper money to pay for things. Throw in online shopping and single-retailer payment apps like the one from Starbucks, and ATMs seem almost quaint.
Apple Card launch expands to all US iPhone users
Apple has announced its Apple Card is available to everyone in the US starting today, expanding on the limited launch earlier this month. If you didn't see the many signup tutorial videos provided by Apple, you can apply by opening the Wallet app on your iPhone to start. The full rollout comes alongside an extra benefit for those happy to bank with the tech company: a three percent "Daily Cash" return offer that works with both Uber and Uber Eats.
Apple’s credit card could arrive in the first half of August
In March, Apple made a fuss over its plans to introduce a credit card. But we haven't heard much about Apple Card since. Now, Bloomberg reports that the card will reportedly launch in the first half of August. The update suggests that the card is on track, as Apple initially said it would be ready this summer.
Finally, I can use my iPhone to ride the NYC subway
This morning, as I've done regularly since moving to New York City years ago, I left my Brooklyn apartment to head to Engadget headquarters in Manhattan. In an ideal world, I would've been able to use my iPhone to get through the turnstile at my nearby subway station. But, even though the MTA is now supporting contactless payments services such as Apple Pay, only a handful of stations and buses have so far been upgraded to the new One Metro New York (OMNY) system. The one close to my apartment isn't one of them. Still, I wanted to get the full experience beyond a quick demo from Apple. Thankfully, there's a subway station near our office that has the tap-to-pay turnstiles.
Apple Pay will work on NYC subways and buses starting May 31st
Ever since I moved to New York City nearly ten years ago, I've had to buy physical MetroCards to ride the subway almost every day. But last week, for the first time ever, I didn't have to swipe my card to get trough the turnstile and catch my train. Instead, the entire process was done on an iPhone, thanks to a demo I tried of the Apple Pay Express Transit feature -- one that will start rolling out to MTA subway and bus stations on Friday, May 31st. This contactless system, which also works with Apple Watch, is as seamless as you might expect: You just hold your device next to the screen on an upgraded tap-to-pay turnstile and, within a second, you'll see a message on the reader that says "GO" and you're on your way.
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 will support NFC stickers on scooters and parking meters
Apple is reportedly working on a new NFC feature that will allow iPhone users to make Apple Pay purchases by tapping special, NFC-equipped tags. That means retailers won't need bulky terminals, and iPhone users won't need to download a third-party app before, say, buying clothes or adding miles to their scooter rental. According to 9to5mac, Apple is partnering with Bonobos clothing store, PayByPhone parking meters and Bird scooters on the initial roll out.
iOS 12.3 code hints at support for more forms of mass transit
Apple's plans to expand support for mass transit now appear likely to hinge around its next big iOS 12 update. Tap Down Under has found code within iOS 12.3 that hints at support for EMV payment cards (think credit cards like AmEx, Mastercard and Visa) within Apple Pay Express Transit, letting you pay for public transportation fares in New York and other areas where EMV is an option. You could set a preferred card for transportation if you don't want to use your usual card for subway rides.
UK government starts accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay
It's now that much quicker for Brits to pay for official services online -- if you use the right services. The UK government now supports Apple Pay and Google Pay for a handful of online services as part of a trial. Right now, it's primarily useful for travel. You can use your mobile device to quickly pay for Global Entry (fast-tracking entry to the US), the Registered Traveller Service (for frequent non-EU visitors to the UK), the Electronic Visa Waiver Service (for some Middle Eastern visitors to the UK). It'll also work for "basic" DBS checks for work.
New York City's MTA will support Apple Pay in early summer
If you're a New Yorker, you won't have to wait long to use Apple Pay for mass transit. As part of a call discussing Apple's latest earnings, Tim Cook revealed that New York City's transit system would support Apple Pay in early summer, narrowing down the generic "later this year" mentioned in March. He didn't say just which services and routes would be covered, but the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's tap-to-pay OMNY system is supposed to launch May 31st with coverage on the 4, 5 and 6 subway lines as well as Staten Island buses.
All the important stuff from Apple's services event (+)
Apple just wrapped up its services event, giving us nearly two hours of news -- well, more like an hour-plus of news and 45 minutes of details on its forthcoming original programming. Still, there's a ton to unpack, even though the vast majority of Apple's announcements won't be useful for you, dear reader, until later this year. We'll run all the major details down here, as well as when you can give these new subscription services and apps a shot.
Apple Pay for public transit coming to the US later this year
Apple announced today that Apple Pay will be coming to mass transit systems in major US cities later this year. Portland, Chicago and New York City will be the first to support the payment service, which will allow passengers to quickly pay fares with their iPhone.
