Apple Pay launches amid skepticism

SAN FRANCISCO

Apple Pay, the latest innovation from the company that redefined music listening and cell phones, launched Monday.

Cupertino’s foray into mobile payments will work on the more than 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones that have been already sold. While the system is included on the company’s newest tablets, the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 2, it works only for in-app purchases, not at brick-and-mortar retailers.

Apple Pay, of course, also isn’t included on the countless millions of older model iPhones. The system requires the near-field communication (NFC) technology built into the smartphones released last month.

New iPhone owners will be able to make purchases at more than 220,000 locations around the United States. Participating stores include McDonalds, Walgreens and Whole Foods Market. Credit card networks Visa, MasterCard and American Express have joined, as well as more than 500 banks.

The U.S.’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has been very vocal about not accepting Apple Pay.

Reluctance to leap on Apple’s newest pet project is to be expected. Mobile payment systems like Google Wallet have existed for years, but customers have been slow to get on-board. The favored payment system of plastic credit and debit cards is simple and widely adopted. If the current system isn’t broken, does Apple need to fix it? 

Apple is hoping to bring the concept mainstream, just like it did for digital music players, smartphones and tablets.

“We believe that Apple Pay will accelerate mobile payment adoption, although it will likely take some time,” analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a recent report to clients.

It also appears that banks are competing to be the default card in users’ digital wallets.

“We believe Apple Pay has the potential to be a game changer,” a representative from Chase Bank tweeted Friday to questions about its intense promotion of Apple Pay.

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