Apple Pay Later could finally be ready to launch. Graphics: Apple/Rajesh
Apple Pay Later reportedly has entered beta testing among Apple’s retail store employees, signaling that the “buy now, pay later” service is nearing public release.
The move comes months after Apple announced the financing option at its Worldwide Developers Conference last June.
Apple Pay adoption keeps growing by leaps and bounds. Photo: Apple
Apple Pay is now handling over $6 trillion in transactions a year, according to new research. That means the iPhone’s wireless payment system is now bigger than MasterCard and Alipay.
Since its inception in 2014, analysts report that Apple Pay has slowly grown to the point where a large majority of iPhone users now have it activated.
The Southwest Conservation Corps’s Leaders of Color crew provides a supportive space for aspiring BIPOC conservationists to break into the field. Photo: National Park Foundation/Jeremy Wade Shockley
Apple pledged Monday to donate $10 to the National Park Foundation (NPF) for many Apple Pay purchases. If you buy via Apple Pay on apple.com, in the Apple Store app or at a U.S. Apple Store through August 28, you’re helping national parks.
Cupertino said it’s a way to celebrate 106 years of the U.S. National Park Service. And you can also enjoy special content and collections on Apple Maps, Apple Podcasts and more.
Apple Pay fun in the summertime: Get big discount from 13 retailers. Photo: Apple
Cupertino sent out a new summer-themed Apple Pay promotion Thursday with special deals on clothing, shoes, accessories and more. You can get up to 70% off items from GOAT and significant discount from a dozen other retailers. That means you can get the crazy-looking Yeezy 450 ‘Sulfur’ sneakers for $157 (regularly $200).
The discounts come from popular stores like Crocs, Ray-Ban, J.Crew, Lands’ End, Gymboree, Matt & Nat, The RealReal and others. Hit the links below.
Apple points out the security weaknesses of physical credit cards. Screenshot: Apple
The iPhone’s wireless payment system is more secure than credit cards, and Apple wants to make sure everyone knows it. That’s why the company created three short video ads to show off the advantages of Apple Pay.
Watch them now to learn more about the contactless payment system built into certain Apple devices.
The lawsuit alleges that Apple Pay blocks the competition from tap-to-pay. Photo: Apple
Apple violates U.S. antitrust law by making sure Apple Pay is the only e-wallet way to tap to pay via an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch, a new class-action lawsuit filed Monday alleges.
The complaint says Apple profits illegally to the tune of $1 billion a year or more by blocking competitors like Google Pay and Samsung Pay from offering tap-to-pay transactions on Apple devices.
You might be surprised how many businesses let you pay with your iPhone. Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
After a mishap, I recently had to go on vacation without a credit card. I was ready with cash but it never mattered – to my surprise, wireless payments and Apple Pay let my iPhone make all the purchases I needed.
It’s clear we’re really not far away from physical credit cards becoming obsolete. That’ll be one less hassle in our lives.
The EU objects to how Apple limits third parties' ability to use Apple Pay. Photo: Apple
As expected from previous actions and statements, the European Union formally objected Monday to how Apple denies other companies use of the technology that drives Apple Pay.
iPhone users might soon be able to use tap-to-pay with non-Apple payment systems. In the EU, anyway. Photo: Apple
The European Union reportedly plans to accuse Apple of violating the law by limiting access to the iPhone’s NFC capabilities to the company’s own payment system. The goal is to give rival systems like PayPal access to the iPhone’s convenient tap-to-pay function.
Apple claims the limitation is there to protect users’ financial information. The EU calls it anticompetitive.
Do Mother's Day with Apple Pay this year. Photo: Apple
As you may have nervously noted, given past lapses (You? Never!), Mother’s Day is fast approaching. It falls on Sunday, May 8. To help you out, Apple sent out a series of Apple Pay promotions Wednesday that’ll save you a few bucks on thoughtful gifts for mom.
Discounts are outlined below. And in case you missed it, Apple also put out a gift guide for the occasion.
Cupertino makes moves to better prevent fraud. Photo: Apple
Apple is in the process of upgrading Apple Pay fraud prevention features for cards stored in the Wallet app on iPhone and Apple Watch, starting with Visa cards.
Some users have already started noticing a new “Enhanced Fraud Prevention” alert badge.
Use Apple Pay to donate to a good cause this year around Earth Day. Photo: Apple
If you care about environmental causes, Apple just gave you a pretty painless way to give. Starting Thursday and running through Earth Day on April 22, Apple will donate $1 to the World Wildlife Fund for every Apple Pay transaction in Apple stores, on the store app or on Apple.com.
So start buying stuff and join the fight to save the planet’s beleaguered species.
Apple supposedly wants to reduce the financial services it outsources. Graphic: Cult of Mac
Rather than letting existing financial companies handle all its payment processing, Apple wants to bring some of it in-house, according to an unconfirmed report. And the Mac-maker would also like to take on a range of other related services itself.
The goal is to reduce the amount of money Apple has to pay outside companies for financial services.
It will be available only in the U.S. initially. Photo: Apple
Apple will give iPhone the ability to accept contactless payments without additional hardware later this year, the company confirmed Tuesday.
The feature, which Apple calls “Tap to Pay,” initially will be available to merchants in the United States who use a “partner-enabled iOS app.” The company says Tap to Pay will “empower millions” to use their iPhones to seamlessly accept payments.
Apple on Thursday rolled out its first iOS 15.4 beta adding the ability to use Face ID with a mask for the first time. Since then, tests carried out by developers have uncovered some additional (and important) tidbits.
Worrying news for companies like Square. Mockup: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Apple is working to give iPhone the ability to accept contactless credit card payments over NFC without the need for additional hardware “in the coming months,” according to a new report.
You currently need a third-party credit card reader, like those made by Square, to use iPhone as a payment terminal. However, since iPhone 6 made it debut in 2014, Apple’s smartphone has been packing the NFC technology that’s needed.
Cupertino profits from every Apple Pay transaction. And the money comes from big banks that issue the credit cards that get entered into the iPhone’s virtual wallet. Now, the banks are reportedly pushing to have the fees lowered.
And the fact that Apple created its own credit card to complete with the banks only made things worse.
Security researchers just uncovered a big flaw. Photo: Apple
Security researchers have discovered a major flaw in Express Transit on iPhone that allows hackers to steal money from a user’s Visa card. They say the problem can be easily fixed, but neither Apple or Visa seem interested.
The flaw makes it possible for iPhone’s contactless payment system, designed to make it easier and faster to pay for public transport, to be charged arbitrary transactions by a device that imitates a transport terminal.
Apple Pay’s latest promotion saves new Instacart customers a generous $30 on deliveries worth $50 or more. Existing customers can also save $5 when spending $35 or more. The promotion is available through September 8.
Apple donations through August 29 plus content collections help celebrate 105 years of America's national parks. Photo: Austin Mann Photography/Apple
With the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) turning 105 years old, Apple said today it will donate $10 for purchases of its products from official sales points to the National Park Foundation (NPF) through August 29. The Cupertino tech giant will also share new ways for customers to learn about and celebrate America’s parks.
Coinbase, the popular cryptocurrency exchange, now lets you buy assets using Apple Pay. The new payment method appears with you have a Mastercard or Visa debit card added to the Wallet app.
What’s more, Coinbase is making it faster to cash out up to $100,000.
Send and receive money using your Mastercard. Photo: Apple
Apple Cash now allows you to send money using a Mastercard debit card. The peer-to-peer payments feature, which works with Apple Pay and iMessage, previously required a Visa debit card.
Apple has also confirmed that the cost of making an Instant Transfer using Apple Cash is increasing from August 26, 2021.
A planned new service will give you more options to pay over time. Photo: Apple
Apple and its Apple Card partner, Goldman Sachs, plan to launch a new pay-in-installments service for all Apple Pay purchases reportedly known internally as “Apple Pay Later.” It resembles other “buy now, pay later” offerings from companies like Affirm Holdings and PayPal.
European Commission trustbuster Margrethe Vestager has her sights set on Apple Pay. Photo: ECR Group/Flickr CC
The European Union has warned Apple that regulators’ investigation into Apple Pay is going ahead. In an interview with Bloomberg News, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the Apple Pay case is “quite advanced” and “something that we’re pushing forward.”
If you don’t use Apple Pay yet, Apple’s latest set of offers may help convince you to give Cupertino’s mobile payments solution a try. Especially if your wardrobe is in dire need of an upgrade after more than a year of most folks being stuck home.
As part of a “Springtime savings” offer, Apple is offering Apple Pay users discounts at stores ranging from California clothing brand PacSun to sunglasses company Costa Del Mar to sporty apparel company Under Armour.