Eddy Cue buys Frozen toys and sunglasses to show off Apple Pay

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Screen Shot 2014-11-18 at 10.02.02
Eddy Cue can't hold back his enthusiasm for Apple Pay any more. Photo: KTLA

Although tech watchers have known about Apple Pay for some time now, for a large percentage of the general public the concept of NFC transactions is still new — and potentially scary.

Hoping to change that perception, Eddy Cue made an appearance on KTLA’s Tech Report yesterday, where he took host Rich DeMuro on a “shopping spree” to show off Apple’s “new way to pay.”

Want to see one of Apple’s top executives buy oatmeal and Frozen toys using his iPhone? Well, now you can.

Cue and DeMuro hit four stores, starting with Panera Bread, where they buy oatmeal and an egg white “sangwich” using the chain’s official iOS app.

Next, it’s onto Bloomingdale’s, where Cue buys some sunglasses and has to provide his signature as part of the Apple Pay purchase. “In some stores, depending on the amount that you spend, if it’s a higher amount, you may have to sign,” he says.

After that, Cue and DeMuro visit the Disney Store (because why not?) for the aforementioned Frozen toys, before finally returning to some more suitable ground with a trip to the Apple Store. Here, Cue explains how the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 do not have NFC support, but can still make in-app purchases using Touch ID.

All in all, it’s a fun, informative segment — and just the kind of thing Apple needs to do in order to keep the NFC payment momentum going.

Fortunately, early signs suggest that large scale adoption is already happening. Building on the phenomenal success of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Tim Cook has noted that upwards of 1 million users activated credit cards through Apple Pay within its first 72 hours, and many retailers have reported spikes in mobile payments since the launch.

Within three weeks of its launch, Apple Pay already represented close to 1% of transactions at Whole Food, for example.

More recently, Cook has been outspoken about bringing Apple Pay to other parts of the world — most notably to China, which is described as being a “top of the list” priority for Apple.

Via: Apple Insider

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