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New York City to consider Apple Pay for parking tickets
The revenue major U.S. cities derive from parking tickets is substantial. In 2013 alone, the revenue generated from parking tickets issued in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles topped $1 billion. Naturally, cities prefer to have parking tickets paid in full and as promptly as possible. That being said, making it easier for consumers to pay parking tickets is in the best interest of all parties involved. Which brings us to a recent MarketWatch story which relays that the city of New York is contemplating bringing its ticketing system into the modern age by enabling users to pay for parking tickets with their smartphones. Indeed, one such payment option being mulled by the city includes Apple Pay. The city's finance department is looking into alternative payment methods like Apple Pay, PayPal and Bitcoin for the roughly $600 million in parking ticket revenue it collects annually by issuing up to 10 million tickets. ... As of now, the parking bureau's system is pretty outdated. Drivers currently pay for tickets online, via mail or in person at the courthouse. However, the online system is not mobile friendly and credit and debit card payments are subject to a 2.5% convenience fee. As it stands now, everything is still in the preliminary stage with the city set to examine various mobile payment alternatives early this year. Of course, seeing as how Apple Pay is naturally an iPhone-only service, one would expect that any solution the city implements would, ideally, incorporate, more than one payment option. And call me crazy, but I'd bet good money that Bitcoin doesn't make the cut.
Apple and UK banks reportedly in talks to bring Apple Pay across the pond
The Telegraph reports that Apple has been talking with some of the UK's top banks in an effort to expand Apple Pay's international footprint. Britain's top banks are in talks with Apple to introduce its iPhone "wave and pay" service, Apple Pay, to the high street in the first half of 2015. Negotiations between the Silicon Valley giant and at least one of the biggest banks have proved tricky, however, because of wrangling over the terms, including what data Apple will be able to access, according to sources. News that Apple is aiming to bring Apple Pay to the UK in the next six months coalesces with previous statements from Apple executives along with a recent Apple job posting pointing to the assembly of an Apple Pay team based out of London. Further, the tidbit regarding Apple talking to "Britain's top banks" mirrors Apple's mobile payment strategy here in the U.S. where the rollout began with top banks such as Chase and Bank of America before trickling down to smaller and more regional banking institutions. As for the particulars involving Apple's contracts with banking institutions, DigitalTransactions last month claimed to have gotten its hands on such a contract. As one would expect, the contract, if authentic, provides Apple with perhaps more power than banks might feel comfortable with. Still, given the immense security protections that Apple Pay provides, banks by and large have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic about promoting Apple Pay, whether via commercials during prime time or even via splash ads on ATM screens. Looking even beyond the UK, the aforementioned job posting from Apple signals that the powers that be in Cupertino are intent on bringing Apple Pay to the rest of the globe, including the Middle East, India, and Africa.
My top five products of 2014: Mike Rose
It's been all apps, all the time around here as we wrap up our favorites of 2014. For a change of pace, I thought I'd pull together my favorite five products that don't necessarily require a visit to the App Store. Apple Pay & Touch ID (included with iPhone 6/6 Plus, coming for Watch). It doesn't feel good to skip an iPhone generation, as much as we claim to be "waiting for the next one" or "really fine with the phone I have now." In my case, a work-owned iPhone 5 was holding its own when the 5s premiered, and I couldn't really justify forking over the monthly service costs for a second phone. As a result, my first real Touch ID experience, on my recently upgraded 6 Plus, coincided almost exactly with the launch of Apple Pay. I can't say it strongly enough: Apple Pay is what Touch ID was built for, and it's one of the most vivid examples of Apple's user-first interaction design I've ever had the pleasure of using. Touch ID on its own is dandy; the iOS 8-enabled use of the thumbprint unlock in third-party apps (1Password! Finally!) and in the App Store makes it especially useful, as if unlocking your device at a touch wasn't enough. (I'd only had my new phone a few days before I found myself grumbling as I picked up my iPad -- "What, I gotta put in my passcode? Like a caveman?") But oh my, Apple Pay. Putting the power of the payment network and NFC hardware behind that little fingerprint sensor triggers a seismic shift in the way I think about using my iPhone every day. From prescriptions at Duane Reade to supplies at Staples to rides in NYC taxicabs, I'm constantly looking for new places to pay with a touch. No surprise that Apple's feel-good payment platform is beginning to transform our relationship with the overstuffed old-fashioned wallet. STM Linear for MacBook Air 13" (stmbags.com, about US$60). I'll confess that when I bought myself an STM Linear shoulder bag, it was a consolation purchase; my original object of desire was the elite and often sold-out Tom Bihn Ristretto. I was looking for a shoulder bag in a vertical profile, keeping the laptop upright and providing a lean silhouette as I carried my gear around at trade shows or meetings. Since the Bihn bag wasn't in stock when I went looking, I fell back to the STM -- and I haven't regretted it for a moment (nor did I mind that the STM bag is about half the price of the Ristretto). The Linear has enough space for the MacBook, an iPad, cables cords etc. without feeling cramped or overpacked, and the smaller capacity vs. a messenger bag or backpack keeps me from overloading when I step out the door. The Roost Stand (therooststand.com, $75). After meeting the Denver-based Roost team at Macworld/iWorld in the wake of their successful Kickstarter, I thought this unusual foldout laptop stand would be a great fit for my desk. It's portable, light and tough as a Colorado winter, and can be adjusted as needed to hold most portables securely. What I didn't expect was how viral the Roost would become; at least four co-workers have gone ahead and bought their own Roosts in the months since. If you work in an office, be sure to put your name on your Roost so it doesn't wander off. iMac Retina 5K (apple.com, starting at $2499). Who says the desktop is dead? Apple's jaw-dropping all in one model reset the notion of what a desktop PC should look like, even with a wallet-busting sticker price (in fairness, Dell's 5K monitor alone would have cost as much as the iMac, if not for a price drop after Apple's introduction). The Retina iMac is so delicious that even jaded tech writers find themselves compelled, like the NY Times' Farhad Manjoo, to take one home and give it a prominent place on their desks. I haven't replaced my 2011-vintage iMac just yet, but when I do I'll be saving up for the Big Kahuna. Jawbone ERA (jawbone.com, $99/$129 with charging case). I have never had much luck with Bluetooth headsets; whether it's fit or function, they just don't seem to work for me. Other than LG's Tone Pro around the neck headphones -- which provide great stereo sound at the cost of mediocre phone calls and "looking like a huge dork" -- I hadn't found a solid choice. That's why I've been so pleased with the new-generation Jawbone ERA, which works great for phone calls and conferences without being horribly obvious. Jawbone's noise reduction is adequate to a busy city street, and with the current firmware the hardware button can serve as a mute switch on calls (life-changing). The ERA is not cheap, but if you've struggled to find a headset that works the way you do, it's worth a look. Honorable Mention: Pebble (getpebble.com, $99/$199). It's black-and-white, not color. It's not touchable or speakable. It is decidedly not an Apple watch, but in many ways it's a better first wearable than a yet-to-ship Watch could be. Why do I enjoy my Pebble? Five days or more of battery life, for one thing. Waterproof enough to wear in the shower. Notifications that let me see who's calling, emailing, texting or tweeting at me without having to haul the 6 Plus out of my pocket fifteen times an hour. And a reasonably active app/developer community delivering cool hacks on a regular basis. No, I won't promise not to look longingly at the next shiny device coming from Cupertino soon. But I'll be looking with the benefit of a lot of experience with the first generation of wrist-based tech.
Apple Pay support coming to Disney World this week
With 2015 just around the corner, the rollout of Apple Pay continues to expand slowly but surely. The most recent addition to the Apple Pay mix is Walt Disney World, not to be confused with Disney Stores that already accept Apple Pay. According to a recent report from WDWMagic, Disney World visitors will finally be able to use their iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to pay for goods at restaurants, bars, and ticket booths starting on Christmas Eve, December 24. A similar rollout at Disneyland in California is on track for launch sometime next year, though a precise launch window remains unclear at this time. Initially, most stores, quick service restaurants, bars and ticket sales booths will be included. Any locations that use portable payment terminals, such as table service restaurants, will be added later. The addition of Disney World to the Apple Pay mix is quite significant. Touted as the most popular vacation resort in the world, the iconic collection of theme parks reportedly shuffles in over 52 million visitors every year.
Ticketmaster joins Apple Pay party with updated iOS app
Not one to be left out of a big event, Ticketmaster decided it was time to join in on the Apple Pay movement and has updated its app accordingly. The new feature allows for one-touch ordering and confirmation via Touch ID, and can automatically toss your digital tickets into your iOS Passbook in one seamless transaction. In a press release, Ticketmaster's North America president Jared Smith spoke about the addition. "We work hard to deliver simple and secure ways for fans to purchase tickets to the events they love, and offering Apple Pay makes our industry-leading app the most convenient, flexible and secure way to buy," he said.
Over 45% of Americans have had their credit card compromised; Value proposition of Apple Pay rises yet again
A recent poll from the Wall Street Journal relays that 45% of Americans have received a notification that their credit card information was compromised as part of a data breach. The poll also found that more Americans than ever think they have been targeted in Internet crime. As of December, 15% said either they or a member of their household had been hit by online fraud or hacking. When Gallup asked the same question more than four years ago, 11% answered yes. The Journal/NBC poll of 1,000 adults was conducted from Dec. 10-14. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The poll serves to highlight one of the more appealing features of Apple Pay, namely that Apple's mobile payment service is extremely secure. Over the past year, there have been a number of high profile breaches at companies like Target and Home Depot. In some instances, hackers were even able to obtain personal information of some shoppers. Apple Pay, as we've detailed before, is extremely secure because it relies upon tokenization. During an Apple Pay transaction, no credit card data is ever transmitted or stored on a company's system. Consequently, even if hackers were able to break into a store's system, folks who use Apple Pay would have nothing to worry about.
New job posting points to Apple Pay expansion across the globe
Though Apple Pay initially debuted as a U.S.-only service, Apple executives haven't exactly been shy about their desire to expand the service into other parts of the world. In a sign that such efforts are picking up steam, iClarified spotted a recent job posting which indicates that Apple has its sights set on introducing Apple Pay not just to Europe, but across all corners of the globe. The job listing is for a legal intern looking to join the company's burgeoning Apple Pay team in London. The listing reads in part: Apple Pay is a new and exciting area in Apple that is set to expand across Europe, Middle East, India and Africa. Apple Pay will change the way consumers pay with breakthrough contactless payment technology and unique security features built right into their iPhone 6 or Apple Watch to pay in an easy, secure, and private way. The new London-based Apple Pay team will work to drive the roll-out of this technology across EMEIA by working with a variety of internal and external partners, including teams in the US where the product will first launch and the EMEIA organisation, as well as Issuers, payment networks and merchants across Europe. Since going operational in late October, Apple Pay has seemingly been doing well for merchants who support the payment platform. Last month, for instance, Apple Pay transactions accounted for nearly 1% of all purchases at Whole Foods. Further, McDonald's last month said that Apple Pay now accounts for 50% of all tap-to-pay at its U.S. store locations. Equally as important, the number of banks that now support Apple Pay has slowly but surely expanded over the last 6 weeks. Highlighting this, the New York Times earlier this week relayed that Apple Pay now supports 90% of U.S. credit card purchase volume.
Apple Pay goes pro, signs with NBA's Orlando Magic
The Amway Center, home of the NBA's Orlando Magic, will officially become the first Apple Pay-compatible arena in the sport when the Magic face off against the Utah Jazz this Friday. Chase will be one of the companies helping to make the NFC payment option available for purchases inside the venue. "The Magic are committed to our fans and their experience and are continually looking for ways to innovate in order to make that experience legendary," Magic CEO Alex Martins noted in a press release today. "We are thrilled to join our partners Chase and Levy Restaurants to be the first NBA team to integrate Apple Pay into its home venue and specifically the Amway Center, the most technologically advanced arena in North America." In addition to Apple Pay integration, the Amway Center was also the first NBA location to utilize iBeacon technology to provide users of the team's mobile app with updates while visiting the venue.
Apple Pay expands to support 90 percent of US credit card purchase volume
Apple today confirmed to the New York Times that its mobile payment service, Apple Pay, has expanded in recent weeks to include more than a dozen new banks and retailers. This expansion in the mobile payment service follows an earlier surge in new participants, which included the Disney Store app, Sephora and Tickets.com. New banks enrolling in Apple Pay include TD Bank North, Associated Bank, WesBanco and others. With this expansion, Apple confirmed that its payment service now has widespread bank adoption, supporting cards that account for 90 percent of the credit card purchase volume in the US. Staples also now is accepting Apple Pay at its 1,400 stores as are grocery store chains such as Albertsons and Winn-Dixie. Also new to service is the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Home of the Orlando Magic, the sports and entertainment venue is accepting Apple Pay at its food and retail stands during events. Apple rolled Apple Pay earlier this year, and the service has grown steadily since its introduction. Apple Pay reportedly accounts for 50 percent of all tap-to-pay transactions and up to 1 percent of all transactions at retailers like Whole Foods.
ShopKeep is offering free Apple Pay-compatible POS hardware to new merchants
It just got a lot easier to set your business up to access Apple Pay. ShopKeep has updated its iPad app to offer support for Apple Pay, and is offering new merchants who sign up for the service the new NFC-compatible hardware for free. Current ShopKeep users will need to purchase the iPad accessory for $259. The new reader can take magnetic swipe, EMV chip cards, and NFC-based contactless payments like Apple Pay. Considering ShopKeep offers support for cash drawers, receipt printers, barcode scanners, and other accessories, this move makes the service a good choice for businesses looking for an all-in-one POS system. It also puts ShopKeep out in front of its rival Square, which has announced plans to start accepting Apple Pay in 2015 but hasn't given any details about a timeline. You can watch ShopKeep's announcement video below.
MasterCard rolls out new Apple Pay commercial featuring Gwen Stefani
MasterCard today posted a new video touting the fact that iPhone 6 users who make Apple Pay transactions will find themselves eligible for the company's "priceless surprises" promotion, a sweepstakes that bestows unsuspecting customers with some pretty cool gifts such as concert tickets, shopping vouchers, golf trips and more. The commercial, featuring Gwen Stefani, can be seen below. This, of course, isn't the first time MasterCard has touted the benefits of using Apple Pay. The credit card company in late October aired an Apple Pay ad during the World Series.
Judge rules that banks can sue Target over credit card breach; Value proposition of Apple Pay rises
A judge last week ruled that banks will be allowed to sue Target for negligence stemming from the retailer's gargantuan credit card breach from December of 2013. Nearly a year ago, Target disclosed that hackers, over a two and a half week period, made off with credit and debit card information from upwards of 110 million customers. In some cases, hackers also made off with personal customer information, such as names, phone numbers, and addresses, from Target customers. Target of course isn't alone. A slew of big time retailers, from Home Depot to Neiman Marcus, also suffered embarrassing credit card breaches over the past year. With banks, at least in this instance, now having the green light to sue retailers for credit card breaches, the value proposition for Apple Pay amongst retailers should be glaringly clear. As we've detailed before, the security mechanisms that govern Apple Pay are extremely robust and are at the forefront of an emerging global credit card payments standard. Simply put, it's not a stretch to say that Apple Pay is the safest way to make any type of credit card payment. A massive credit card breach is an expensive problem to fix and has adverse repercussions for all parties involved. In addition to the requisite security reviews and updates retailers must make internally, not to mention the loss of consumer confidence, replacing affected credit cards in and of itself can cost banks hundreds of millions of dollars. With respect to Target, the New York Times recently noted that "the cost of replacing stolen cards from Target's breach alone is roughly $400 million." Ars Technica writes on the matter: The decision could lead to significant changes in the way the cost of fraud is distributed among parties in the credit card ecosystem. Where once banks and merchant acquirers would have to shoulder the burden of fraud (which is how they have long justified increasing Interchange Fees), now, potentially, the order from [Judge] Magnuson could pave the way for more card-issuing banks to sue merchants for not protecting their POS systems properly. To be clear, retailers who accept Apple Pay are still prone to credit card breaches given that traditional credit card swiping isn't going anywhere. Still, a retailer's refusal to support Apple Pay might work against them in a case where banks are arguing negligence. At the same time, a retailer that supports Apple Pay could argue more convincingly that it is doing all it reasonably can to safeguard consumer credit card data. The particulars of the Target breach are interesting, though, because the hack could have been completely avoided. The court ruling noted that Target's negligence stems from the fact that they curiously ignored security alerts from their own security software and inexplicably ignored specific warnings that suspicious activity had been detected. Again, a key Apple Pay selling point is that the service, in addition to being convenient, provides an unparalleled level of security for consumers, banks, and merchants. It's why banks are heavily advertising Apple Pay in both print and national TV spots; they want to throw their weight behind a service that will minimize the likelihood of credit card breaches in the future. As a quick example, Wells Fargo recently began running this ad for Apple Pay nationally. When's the last time you saw a bank advertise a payment service from another brand?
Winn-Dixie supermarkets are now supporting Apple Pay
Apple Pay has been wildly successful so far at high-end grocery store Whole Foods Market, with the service accounting for 0.91% of that chain's sales since launching. Now the service is launching at another major grocery chain. Winn-Dixie has announced it will be launching Apple Pay in its 532 grocery stores in the southeastern United States. This is an important expansion for the service considering that Winn-Dixie serves a large number of customers who either wouldn't shop at or don't have access to Whole Foods. The company has released the following ad announcing the addition.
Chrome extension removes the '' from Watch and Pay
Bothered by the unicode Apple logo appearing all over the web thanks to Apple's new Watch smartwatch and Pay mobile payments service? Then you need to check out this Chrome extension "ItsCalledAppleWatch." Created by Matt Faluotico, the extension replaces every instance of the unicode symbol with the word "Apple." Currently, it only works on Reddit.com, but could be easily expanded to include other websites. Faluotico posted the extension and its associated files on Github. You can download the extension's CRX file and install it manually using these handy instructions from CNET. [Via Reddit]
Commerce Bank adds Apple Pay support for personal MasterCards
Apple can add another name to the list of banks supporting its new Apple Pay service. Commerce Bank is now offering support for the service with one major caveat. Commerce customers can only use Apple Pay with a personal MasterCard credit card. Sorry Visa users... give it some time. If you haven't heard of Commerce Bank before, that makes sense, as it is mostly a regional operation. The bank serves a large chunk of North American Midwest including Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado, but doesn't have offices outside of those states. Commerce has yet to publicly announce its support for Apple Pay, but the bank is currently listed on the Apple Pay support site. If you're a Commerce Bank customers with a MasterCard, now's your chance to try out Apple Pay.
Square to accept Apple Pay next year; Tickets.com beginning rollout
That drum beat you hear is the sound of more merchants and payment getting on the Apple Pay bandwagon. Today we've heard via AppleInsider and CNN that Square will be supporting Apple Pay in 2015, and from Patently Apple that Tickets.com is starting to support Apple Pay through venue-related apps that use the service. First, Square founder Jack Dorsey noted in a CNN interview that Square would be supporting Apple Pay next year, although he didn't divulge exactly how this is going to happen. Neither the current Square Reader (which plugs into the headphone jack on just about any smartphone or tablet) nor the iPad-based Square Stand work with NFC-based payment services like Apple Pay, so adding the capability might require all-new hardware. What the company may have up its sleeve is using an all-software solution that utilizes Apple Pay and Touch ID for verification of purchases through an app, which would not force merchants to shell out for new equipment. However, Square started taking pre-orders this month for new card readers that will support chip cards -- what the credit card issuers are switching to next year -- so perhaps the company will quickly make a switch to NFC compatibility as well. It's all as clear as mud right now. What is clear right now is that Tickets.com, a company that provides technology solutions to "more than a thousand sports and entertainment clients around the world", has just launched integration with a single venue with support for Apple Pay. That venue is The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, CT, and a new app amazing called "The Bushnell" lets patrons buy tickets to concerts and events using Apple Pay. Tickets.com says that it will roll out in-app Apple Pay mobile payments support to other sports and entertainment clients, including Major League Baseball teams via the MLB.com At The Ballpark app.
KTLA goes Apple Pay shopping with Apple's Eddy Cue
Apple senior vice president of internet software and services Eddy Cue has a lot to be happy about with a successful Apple Pay rollout in the last month. He's so happy that he went out and did a lot of early holiday shopping with KTLA's Rich DeMuro at a number of stores that feature -- surprise! -- Apple Pay as a payment method. Cue and DeMuro started their day at Panera Bread, where they ordered a quick breakfast using the chain's app and picked it up, all without interacting with one of those pesky human beings. Then it was off to Bloomingdales, where Cue had the opportunity to pay at a terminal using the now-familiar tap with his finger on the Touch ID home button. At the Disney Store, Cue had to sign for his transaction, explaining that some retailers are still requiring signatures for larger transactions. DeMuro notes that Apple is hoping that eventually retailers will get rid of the need to sign at all. Eventually, the duo showed up at a Santa Monica, CA Apple Store to buy some new iPads ... which of course allow Apple ID purchases from within apps. All in all, this is a great introduction to Apple Pay if you haven't yet had the opportunity to try it out. The video will start in about 30 seconds after the ad.
Apple Pay now accounts for 50% of tap-to-pay transactions at McDonald's
Apple Pay certainly wasn't the first mobile payment platform to hit the market, but it's increasingly starting to look like it will be the first to actually have an impact on the way consumers pay for goods and services. Just days after Whole Foods indicated that it has processed over 150,000 Apple Pay transactions, the New York Times reports that Apple's new mobile payment platform has seen impressive adoption at both McDonald's and Walgreens. Whole Foods, the high-end grocery chain, said it had processed more than 150,000 Apple Pay transactions. McDonald's, which accepts Apple Pay at its 14,000 restaurants in the United States, said Apple Pay accounted for 50 percent of its tap-to-pay transactions. And Walgreens, the nationwide chain of drugstores, said its mobile wallet payments had doubled since Apple Pay came out. What's interesting is that the early success of Apple Pay has seemingly created a halo effect around mobile payments in general. The Times points out that similar services like Google Wallet have seen an uptick in usage since Apple Pay first launched. A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say. Still, with Apple Pay an iPhone 6-only feature for now, not to mention the fact that some stores don't have NFC equipped POS terminals (yet), it will likely take a good few months before we can accurately assess the full impact Apple Pay is having. Early indications, though, are exceedingly promising; Tim Cook noted a few weeks ago that over 1 million credit cards were loaded into Apple Pay in the first week after launch. What's more, Cook recently said that getting Apple Pay into China is one of Apple's top priorities. Going back to the Times report, the "it's easy to lie with statistics" crowd could correctly point out that it's impossible to truly gauge the popularity of Apple Pay at McDonald's and Walgreens without first knowing how many tap-to-pay transactions are being processed overall. 50% sure sounds impressive, but 50% of what? That said, we'll likely be graced with more specific numbers regarding the prevalence of Apple Pay transactions in the coming months. When that happens, it stands to reason that the numbers will be quite impressive, especially when one considers that mobile payment platforms before Apple Pay were largely DOA.
Staples begins accepting Apple Pay at 1,400 locations
With Apple Pay seemingly off to a great start, the number of retail outlets where customers can use Apple's mobile payment platform is already expanding. Yesterday, reports surfaced indicating that 1,400 Staples locations are now accepting payment via Apple Pay. This, of course, is in addition to the Staples iOS app which has accepted Apple Pay payments since the service launched a few weeks ago. As it stands now, Apple has 36 retail partners who officially support Apple Pay transactions. Of course, the total figure is much higher as any retail chain with NFC equipped POS machines can accept Apple Pay transactions, assuming, of course, retailers don't proactively disable support a'la Rite Aid and CVS. Per Apple's website, the following companies will roll out support for Apple Pay "soon": Anthropologie, Free People, Urban Outfiggers, Sephora, and Walt Disney Parks and Resort.
Citibank's Deborah Hopkins talks to Bloomberg about Apple Pay partnership
Citibank's chief innovation officer Deborah Hopkins recently sat down with Bloomberg TV's Emily Chang to discuss Citi's investment in mobile payment options like Square and Apple Pay. The Apple Pay portion of the interview begins at 1:54 seconds in the video below, but even the previous sections touch on what makes Apple Pay so important. The company's goal in supporting these services is to make mobile payments a ubiquitous part of everyday life. Apple Pay excels in this normalization of mobile payments by giving users the security of a unique identifier number for transactions rather than giving someone their bank account or debit card number. For a company like Citi that has made broad investments in various aspects of the mobile payment landscape, the confidence built in consumers who use Apple Pay could also translate into confidence in similar, but different, services such as Square. You can watch the interview below.
