Can you imagine never needing to carry your debit and credit cards with you again? As Apple ramps up the number of banks that Apple Pay supports, using cards as a form of payment may become a distant memory for iPhone users.
Apple Pay was a new feature that came in October 2014 to work exclusively with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3. These devices have an NFC radio antenna that allows the phone to be used for payment in stores. The Touch ID sensor is used in conjunction with NFC for safe and secure payment.
To use Apple Pay, customers need only to hold their phones to pay terminals, and the phone will automatically wake up and initiate the payment process. To complete payment, just use the finger print sensor and payment is made!
The Apple Watch also came with the capability to use Apple Pay by double pressing the Digital Crown and placing it near the payment terminal.
Until now, only American Express, MasterCard, and Visa were supported using Apple Pay app, along with many top banks, but not all. On September 9th, 2015, Discover announced that they would now be joining the other top credit cards as supporting the Apple Pay option with their cards. Discover credit cards should now be ready to be compatible with Apple Pay by September 16th, 2015.
Also announced with the addition of Discover card was the addition of some top banks that bring the running total of banks that work with Apple Pay up to over 500 institutions. Some notable institutions that were added include Citizens Bank, E-Trade Bank, Johns Hopkins Federal Credit Union, McGraw-Hill Federal Credit Union, and MIT Federal Credit Union. The full list of the institutions added includes:
- Amplify Federal Credit Union
- Bank of the Ozarks
- Branch Banking & Trust
- Bridgehampton National Bank
- Capital Educators Federal Credit Union
- Centra Credit Union
- Charlotte Metro Credit Union
- Citizens Bank
- Coastal Federal Credit Union
- Credit Union 1
- Dollar Bank, FSB
- Eglin FCU
- E-Trade Bank
- First Community Bank
- First Community Credit Union (OR)
- First Florida Credit Union
- First National Bank of Waseca
- Floridian Bank
- Georgia United Credit Union
- Johns Hopkins Federal Credit Union
- Kennebunk Savings Bank
- Kirtland Federal Credit Union
- Leaders Credit Union
- Maine Savings Federal Credit Union
- McGraw-Hill Federal Credit Union
- Merchants Bank
- MIT Federal Credit Union
- National Penn Bank
- Navigant Credit Union
- Nodaway Valley Bank
- Nymeo
- OU Federal Credit Union
- Pacific NW Federal Credit Union
- Power Financial Credit Union
- Seaboard Federal Credit Union
- SECU of Maryland
- Southern Security FCU
- Southwest Financial Federal Credit Union
- Sterling Federal Bank
- The Cape Cod Five Cent Saving Bank
- The Focus Federal Credit Union
- Trupoint Bank
- UBI Federal Credit Union
- Vinton County National Bank
- Watertown Savings Bank
- Xceed Financial Federal Credit Union
The addition of Discover cards, and tons of new banking institutions, will ultimately affect the direction that the retail sector is taking. As Apple Pay incorporates an ever-growing list of partners, the way the world shops will continue to evolve.
Gone will be the days of carrying a large wallet with many cards, as everything will be stored in the Apple Pay app, and paying for goods will be just a finger print verification away!