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Is Apple Pay The Future Of Mobile Payments?
ResumeServices such as Google Wallet and Boston-based LevelUp, which allow you to make purchases using nothing but your smartphone, have been around for a while now. The idea is to make paying for things like takeout meals or coffee as easy as possible. Just tap your smartphone against a special reader in the store and go.
This week, Apple hopes that millions of people will start using mobile payment systems. Along with the new iPhone 6 and Apple's new smart watch, the company revealed Apple Pay, the iPhone-based payment system that Apple says is more convenient and secure than using a credit or debit card.
There's no doubt that consumer financial transactions are a field that's ripe for major innovation, and Apple is a company that has the power to change consumer behavior. But mobile payments have been around for about a decade now, and yet they haven't really taken off. People still use cash and credit. Will Apple's system be any better?
Guests
Hiawatha Bray, technology columnist for The Boston Globe. He tweets @GlobeTechLab.
Sam Ditzion, CEO of Boston's Tremont Capital Group, a leading consulting and strategy firm in the ATM and payments industry.
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The Boston Globe: Has Apple Pay Arrived Too Late?
- "Apple Inc. keeps giving new meaning to the term 'fashionably late.' Once again, the company has garnered global headlines and rapturous applause for introducing features and service long after everyone else. That might be a good thing when it comes to making purchases with your phone. Such “digital wallets” have been around for years, but who uses them? I have, once or twice, and found them uniformly lame. Perhaps the new Apple payment technology unveiled on Tuesday will finally crack the code. I’ll let you know after Sept. 19, when the new iPhone 6 with Apple Pay goes on sale."
Credit.com: All Eyes On Apple’s iWallet
- "Sure, making payments using your iPhone is 'cool' – particularly for millennials and those want to prove to friends, kids or grandkids that you’re hip and tech savvy. But is paying for something using your iPhone actually easier or better? Is it faster? Is it more reliable? Is it truly secure?"
This article was originally published on September 11, 2014.
This segment aired on September 11, 2014.