Apple's software boss Eddy Cue, an avid Golden State Warriors fan, was on-hand at Oracle arena in Oakland on Saturday to help with the official rollout of Apple Pay at the team store, the second such to support the mobile payment technology.
While we expect many details for the Apple Watch to be revealed on Monday, Mashable reports Cue, who was wearing a stainless steel Apple Watch, offered details on how Apple Pay will work with the wearable.
Google plans to launch Android Pay at its Google I/O conference in May, following its purchase of Softcard (formerly known as Isis) earlier this week, according to ArsTechnica citing anonymous sources.
The new Android Pay solution, which ArsTechnica reports will indeed be the name, is set to take on Apple Pay as a revamp to Google's ailing Google Wallet product that's been around since 2011.
Chase Bank has provisioned over one million wallets with Apple Pay since the service launched in October 2014. As noted by AppleInsider, the company made the announcement during an investors conference call on Tuesday.
"We continue to see good growth in the number of consumers that are provisioning Chase cards in their Apple Pay wallet," said Chase's Eileen Serra. "And as more merchants adopt, I would expect to see more traction here, as well."
Tuesday, financial services corporation and credit card issuer Visa announced that it will be rolling out tokenization technology in Europe by mid-April, a move that could speed up the arrival of Apple Pay and other new contactless payment services to the 743 million people continent.
The payment tokenization technology will be “be at the heart of new mobile payment solutions.” Needless to say, Apple Pay has mainstreamed tokenization, which basically replaces sensitive credit card and payment information with a one-time digital token exchanged between your iPhone and an NFC-enabled payment terminal.
Google is working to revamp its Google Wallet service available for Android devices, after the growth of Apple Pay in its early days, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The Journal lays out the search giant's plans, including word that it's working to unveil a new version of Google Wallet in late May at the Google I/O developer conference.
The differences between Apple and Google's strategies in the mobile space couldn't be more obvious. One company is making a big bet on privacy. The other, is making a big bet on everything but privacy. These strategies give each companies different priorities, and mobile payments is once again a clear illustration of that.
Apple clearly states that absolutely no data is collected or shared when making purchases with Apple Pay. As Tim Cook said before, the transaction is just between you and the merchant. No one in between. Your privacy is one of Apple's priorities.
Google, on the other hand, has different priorities when it comes to mobile payments. Based on its long-time business model, Google wants to collect data about what you buy so it can serve you more targeted ads.
Samsung announced on Wednesday that it's buying Apple Pay competitor LoopPay as it looks to bolster a mobile payments product. LoopPay, similar to Apple's offering, offers a mobile wallet that allows wireless payments to take place on existing magnetic stripe readers.
Apple Pay isn't widely popular in Staples' stores, however the retail chain has noticed great success with Apple Pay integration on its iOS app, with it even bringing in new customers.
"Right now it's the number one payment method for us in our iOS apps," said Prat Vemana, VP of mobile commerce for Staples, speaking during a panel discussion in Seattle on Tuesday. Vemana said that 30 percent of purchases made in the Staples' iOS app use Apple Pay, reports FierceWireless.
Apple is looking to grow on its recent iPhone dominance in China by launching Apple Pay in the region, however its efforts have hit a snag as China’s central bank, UnionPay bank-card service and e-commerce giant Alibaba have become a struggle to negotiate with, centering mainly around profit sharing, according to MarketWatch.
As Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke at the President Obama's Summit on Cybersecurity on Friday, the White House announced that Apple Pay will be enabled for federal payment cards, including Social Security and veterans benefits that are issued via debit cards.
The news represents a major vote of confidence for Apple Pay and Apple in general. While it shouldn't be considered a proper endorsement from the White House, it is still a major win for Apple.
In a note to clients obtained Monday by AppleInsider, revered analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is predicting that the next iPhone will have a much improved and more reliable Touch ID fingerprint sensor that will “offer a better and safer Apple Pay user experience by reducing reading errors."
An analyst with KGI Securities, Kuo is plugged deeply into Apple's supply chain and has proven reliable.
Sky is definitely not the limit for Apple's mobile payment service as JetBlue Airways announced on Tuesday that it will very soon start accepting Apple Pay for in-flight purchases of premium offerings, such as EatUp snack boxes and à la carte food options from the EatUp Café, premium beverages, onboard amenities and Even More Space seating.
The airline will start accepting Apple Pay on select JetBlue transcontinental flights from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco in mid-February. Apple Pay will roll out to additional flights beginning in March, with all JetBlue flights accepting Apple Pay by June.