Apple Pay

Wells Fargo offering card holders $20 to try Apple Pay

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

In an effort to encourage users to try out Apple Pay, Wells Fargo has launched a program that offers $20 to card holders who use the service. The rules are simple: make an Apple Pay purchase with your Wells Fargo Credit Card by November 30, 2014, and you'll earn a $20 statement credit.

The bank published the details of the promotion on its website early Monday, along with other Apple Pay information. Wells Fargo says that Apple Pay purchases are covered under its Zero Liability fraud protection service, and are also compatible with its popular loyalty rewards program.

Apple says Apple Pay response ‘overwhelmingly positive,’ still working to add new merchants

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple has commented on the recent chatter regarding Rite Aid and CVS disabling Apple Pay over the weekend, telling BusinessInsider that it's working to bring on as many merchant partners as it can for its newly launched mobile payment service.

Late last week, reports began popping up that Rite Aid stores were disabling support for Apple Pay and other NFC-based payment services, and over the weekend, CVS followed suit. The two retailers confirmed the moves today via press statements.

CVS follows Rite Aid’s lead and shuts down Apple Pay

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

CVS appears to be following Rite Aid's stupidity, according to MacRumors, and has instructed its individual stores to shut down NFC access on its terminals, rendering Apple Pay unusable during checkout. The problem with this decision is that it not only shuts down Apple Pay, but any other contactless payment technology such as Google Wallet.

These stores have been able to accept contactless payment for who knows how long, but now that Apple Pay has brought needed relevance to the space, companies are beginning to draw lines in the sand...

Tim Cook: bringing Apple Pay to China ‘is on the top of our list’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 19, 2017

Repeating his favorite line that China, home to 1.33 billion people, is a key market to Apple, CEO Tim Cook said bringing Apple's revolutionary mobile payments system to the country “is on the top of the list”.

“China is a really key market for us,” Cook told state-run Xinhua news agency Friday. ”Everything we do, we are going to work it here. Apple Pay is on the top of the list.”

Cook and his teams at Apple were still “seeking to understand” the steps needed to make Apple Pay a reality for Chinese customers, the report added.

Apple Pay now accepts Amazon’s Visa Rewards card

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 24, 2014

In just two short days following Amazon's confirmation that it's been working to enable its Chasse-issued Amazon.com Rewards Visa co-branded card for use on Apple Pay, users can now load that card in Apple's mobile payments software, according to TechCrunch and reports on MacRumors forums, Reddit, Twitter and other social media channels on Friday.

Apple Pay users should now be able to add their Visa Rewards card in Apple Pay, either by entering the card details manually or snapping a picture of their card with the iPhone's camera. Twitter reports prove that doing so puts the correct card image with the Amazon logo in the Passbook application.

Apple Pay glitch causing some Bank of America users to be double charged

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

There is a glitch in Apple Pay that is causing some Bank of America customers to be charged twice for purchases, reports Bloomberg. A number of BOA card holders have come forward saying that they are seeing duplicate charges on their statements for Apple Pay-related transactions.

While some teething issues are expected with any new service launch—particularly on Apple Pay's—this has proven to be a serious problem. Customers affected by the glitch found themselves stuck between Apple and Bank of America customer service, with both sides passing the buck.

Amazon working to enable its Rewards Visa Card for use on Apple Pay

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

The online retail giant Amazon confirmed to GeekWire that it is in fact working to enable the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card offered by Chase for use on Apple Pay, as MacRumors first noted on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Seattle, Washington headquartered company did not specify when it would be available. This is a major development as Amazon is among the companies not supporting Apple Pay initially.

MasterCard promotes Apple Pay in TV commercials

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

MasterCard, one of Apple's launch partners for Apple Pay, has begun airing new television commercials during last night's Game 1 highlighting Apple's mobile payments service, which became available at more than 220,000 locations in the United States with the release of iOS 8.1 this Monday.

“Fans who use their MasterCard with Apple Pay are enjoying priceless surprises, even at the World Series,” the voiceover can be heard saying. And what exactly might those “priceless surprises” be?

How about tickets to the games and even “meeting a baseball legend” such as George Brett and other “once in a lifetime experiences”?

Jump past the fold to watch the ads now.

Be choosy, Apple Pay is limited to 8 credit cards at any one time

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

I generally keep a lot of credit cards, because I like to play the loyalty frequent flier bonus miles game. I've been able to take some amazing trips for next to nothing over the years as a result.

But telling you about my global travels isn't the purpose of this post. The point of this post is to highlight a limit you'll encounter if you add enough cards to Apple Pay.

It appears that Apple Pay limits its users to only eight credit and/or debit cards per device. I ran into this limit as I was adding as many of my credit cards into Passbook as I could. It's nowhere near a deal breaker, but this is somewhat disappointing for me...

Apple said to be planning holiday launch for Apple Pay loyalty program

Cody Lee ∙ October 21, 2014

Apple is hoping to launch its rumored Apple Pay loyalty rewards program in time for the holiday season, reports Bank Innovation. The program was initially thought to be part of Apple Pay 2.0, expected in the fall of 2015, but new reports claim Apple pushed up the time table.

How the program will work is still unknown, but Bank Innovation says it will likely utilize Apple's iBeacon tech. It offers an example that includes the Apple Pay user receiving a push notification while in a clothing store that reads: "hey if you buy this now, you can get this for free."

Apple lists Apple Pay-compatible cards

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 21, 2014

With yesterday's release of iOS 8.1 with Apple Pay, shoppers can now experience the convenience of making payments with the touch of a finger at over 220,000 stores in the U.S. (and possibly elsewhere) outfitted with NFC contactless terminals.

Apple's now published a new support document detailing the types of plastic Apple Pay supports.

Long story short, major credit and debit cards are accepted as you would expect. Certain prepaid cards, corporate cards and loyalty and gift cards issued by some banks not so much.

Apple Pay can work internationally if you have a U.S.-issued credit card

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 21, 2014

When Apple Pay launched yesterday, it did so within the confines of the United States. Given the amount of hype and the positive experiences from those who used the service, it's no question that many of our friends outside of the United States would love the opportunity to use Apple Pay.

As reported by Mac Rumors, an Australian by the name of Beau Giles was able to successfully use Apple Pay by changing the region of his iPhone from his home country to the United States. Changing the phone's region to the United States on an iPhone running iOS 8.1 enables Apple Pay, and thus allows for the adding of supported credit cards to the Passbook app.