| Cult of Mac

Don’t use Visa cards with Express Transit on iPhone if you hate getting mugged

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Apple-Pay-Express-Transit-London
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, Goldman Sachs team on rewards credit card

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Apple, Goldman Sachs credit card will replace Apple Reward Card
Get ready to tear up your Apple Rewards Card. The company will release a replacement next year with Goldman Sachs.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple is working with Goldman Sachs to release a credit card, according to an unconfirmed report. This will apparently take the place of the company’s current Rewards Visa.

The card will be offered under the Apple Pay brand. Goldman Sachs will allegedly replace Barclays as Apple’s partner for credit cards.

Apple Pay’s next step? Peer-to-peer payments

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple is again working to deliver its own Venmo competitor that will allow fans to transfer money to one another using their iPhones, according to a new report.

Multiple sources familiar with the company’s plans expect the service to be unveiled later this year.

Swatch and Visa partner to one-up Apple Pay

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Apple Pay iPhone
Swatch isn't going to let Apple have all of the contactless-payment fun.
Photo: Apple

Like the Borg, Star Trek‘s race of cybernetically enhanced humanoids, Swiss watch maker Swatch is attempting to have the best of both worlds as it rolls out a partnership with Visa to bring Apply Watch-style contactless payment to its new line of analog timepieces.

Swatch announced the deal today, and the program will roll out early next year.

Samsung Pay goes head-to-head with Apple Pay this September

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samsung-pay-goes-head-to-head-with-apple-pay-this-september-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201508samsung-pay-jpg
Samsung Pay is finally on the way.
Photo: Samsung
Samsung Pay is finally on the way. Photo: Samsung
Samsung Pay is finally on the way. Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s new phablets aren’t the only thing we got out of its Unpacked event in New York City today; the South Korean company also announced a launch date for its new mobile payments service. Samsung Pay will be coming to take on Apple Pay in the U.S. on September 28.

Visa, MasterCard follow Apple Pay’s lead with beefed-up security

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A war for mobile wallet dominance is on the horizon. Apple Pay. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The industry is embracing tokenization and biometric security, both of which are Apple Pay's marquee strengths. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple wasn’t kidding when it said Apple Pay would transform mobile payments. Built around easy of use and security, Apple Pay is the industry’s first solution that benefits users and banks.

The security aspect of Apple Pay has been especially crucial to its early success, and now the big credit card companies have been spurred to follow suit. Today both Visa and MasterCard announced new security initiatives to protect against cyberattacks. Visa in particular has borrowed one of Apple Pay’s key ideas: tokenization.

New Apple rewards credit card will earn you free gift cards

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Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Frequent Apple Store shoppers will love the company’s latest credit card partnership with Barclaycard and Visa. Like rewards cards from Amazon and others, you earn points when you spend that add up to free money.

“The Barclaycard Visa with Apple Rewards” card also offers special financing deals for new Apple product purchases.

Why Apple Pay is the future

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Apple Pay. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
About to test Apple Pay at the local Walgreens. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Critics are fond of saying Apple doesn’t innovate any more. But Apple’s new electronic payment system, Apple Pay, is innovation of the highest order. After a relatively smooth rollout this week, I honestly believe Apple Pay is the future of payments.

Even so, Apple Pay must clear some big hurdles if it’s to become the universal standard. For now, it’s limited to Apple’s latest iPhones and a relatively small number of retail partners, but the basic system — using your fingerprint to validate a purchase on your mobile phone — is the way we will pay for goods and services in the future.

Once again, Apple has shown the world how things should be done.