Apple pay - do you have to double click?

[username:]

The Japanese models of the Apple Watch (which have extra hardware to support the FeliCa system used by cards like Suica, which are very popular in Japan) do support paying without having to double-click the side button first, but only with Suica cards.

(Edit: I'm going to leave the above as I wrote it but add the correction re hardware here - apparently it's the iPhone 7 that uses different hardware for the Japanese model, while the Watch Series 2 uses the same chip from NXP in all models worldwide, but with FeliCa functionality disabled outside Japan, probably due to regulatory approval reasons)

Apple has an extra feature implemented called "Express Transit Card" to support it: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT207154

Essentially, the card that you assign as your Express Transit Card in settings will automatically be used to pay when you bring your watch near the reader, without having to activate Apple Pay first by double-clicking. Only Suica cards can be assigned as an Express Transit Card, and because FeliCa is widely supported in Japan, you can also use this feature to pay for other things you'd normally use a Suica card to pay for (usually convenience store purchases, vending machines, etc).

Naturally, the reason this feature can't be used with other credit cards is because of the aforementioned security issues around it (some of which are to do with the banks' requirements), whereas Suica cards are limited in a number of ways that makes this use case practical, like it not being a normal credit card (it's like a transit card or debit card where it must be topped up, although it does support auto-top-up).

And as with Suica cards and other systems, when you add a Suica card to Apple Pay the card is actually "transferred" to the device, meaning the plastic card itself stops working. A Suica card is essentially a virtual card identifier that can be moved between cards and devices and only exists in one place at a time. But the Suica companion app supports generating a new card account on-the-fly, so if you have a physical Suica card you want to keep, you can ask the app to create a new virtual card for Apple Pay use (just like getting a new physical card from a 7-Eleven and then immediately transferring it to a phone, etc).

So yeah, it's actually possible with the Japanese models, but wouldn't be an advisable feature to implement for general credit cards.

Trust Japan to get it right. They know how to do things like that so awesomely.

The card remains "ready" for nearly a minute after the double click, plenty of time it have it "primed" before you reach the gate.

I didn't know this, thanks. That would not be too bad if I have a minute to be ready

 

[Kyle76]

I just timed it a couple of times. It's exactly 1 minute saying "Ready" before it clicks off.

 

[DDustiNN]

It would be easier without it! Apple pay needs to compete with tap to pay cards, cards that DO NOT require any clicking to work.

I want Apple pay to be my main payment method, including on the underground instead of using my tap to pay debit card. But the clicking is silly

But cards require more work, as you have to get them out of your wallet, put them away, etc.

The double click is a matter of security. You wouldn't want to automatically authorize every single tap, would you? Imagine someone walking by and "accidentally" bumping into you with a hidden NFC device. Whoops, you just authorized a $200 payment to them.

With the phone, you still have the added layer of security since it requires your fingerprint. Your watch has nothing.

 

[username:]

But cards require more work, as you have to get them out of your wallet, put them away, etc.

The double click is a matter of security. You wouldn't want to automatically authorize every single tap, would you? Imagine someone walking by and "accidentally" bumping into you with a hidden NFC device. Whoops, you just authorized a $200 payment to them.

With the phone, you still have the added layer of security since it requires your fingerprint. Your watch has nothing.

There are already wearable NFC devices that dont need any clicking. See Barclays sticker tags, swatch bellamy watch, etc. The least Apple needs to do is make small purchases <30 without any clicking, and make the verification faster.

 

[BarracksSi]

There are already wearable NFC devices that dont need any clicking. See Barclays sticker tags, swatch bellamy watch, etc. The least Apple needs to do is make small purchases <30 without any clicking, and make the verification faster.

As noted earlier about Japan, this doesn't seem to be dependent only on Apple.

 

[d123]

There are already wearable NFC devices that dont need any clicking. See Barclays sticker tags, swatch bellamy watch, etc. The least Apple needs to do is make small purchases <30 without any clicking, and make the verification faster.

I can't actually believe you're serious, but if you are, how about if you don't want to pay with the default card?

In the real world it's double click and swipe to the card you want, probably 2-3 seconds including choosing the card.

Have you heard the saying about making mountains out of molehills?

 

[username:]

I can't actually believe you're serious, but if you are, how about if you don't want to pay with the default card?

In the real world it's double click and swipe to the card you want, probably 2-3 seconds including choosing the card.

Have you heard the saying about making mountains out of molehills?

Of course double clicking a button is a small thing, but given the option I would turn it off. Is that so hard to understand? As for choosing a card, yes if I wanted to choose a different card then I can double click.

As mentioned, there are many options that just require a tap. No extra steps. I would like option in the Apple Watch. It's not a mountain, just a personal opinion.

 

[d123]

Of course double clicking a button is a small thing, but given the option I would turn it off. Is that so hard to understand? As for choosing a card, yes if I wanted to choose a different card then I can double click.

As mentioned, there are many options that just require a tap. No extra steps. I would like option in the Apple Watch. It's not a mountain, just a personal opinion.

Unfortunately just not a very clever opinion, the negatives of allowing a completely interventionless method have been posted, and the lack of security when compared to the minimal effort and one second needed to double click to use make it a stupid idea.

You would lose the entire perception of security that surrounds ApplePay the first time some hacker walks around with a receiver stealing funds from every Watch user who has ApplePay enabled because the system doesn't need a positive action from the wearer to authorise the transaction.

It may be justified in your opinion, but it's a really stupid idea in the light of what could be done to exploit it...

 

[Defender2010]

The card remains "ready" for nearly a minute after the double click, plenty of time it have it "primed" before you reach the gate.

Exactly, I 'prime' mine on the way to the underground turnstile (?) and it's ready to go immediately. On buses too, works great.

 

[username:]

Unfortunately just not a very clever opinion, the negatives of allowing a completely interventionless method have been posted, and the lack of security when compared to the minimal effort and one second needed to double click to use make it a stupid idea.

You would lose the entire perception of security that surrounds ApplePay the first time some hacker walks around with a receiver stealing funds from every Watch user who has ApplePay enabled because the system doesn't need a positive action from the wearer to authorise the transaction.

It may be justified in your opinion, but it's a really stupid idea in the light of what could be done to exploit it...

There are already many other wearables that operate without any intervention before paying.

 

[japanime]

It may be justified in your opinion, but it's a really stupid idea in the light of what could be done to exploit it...

Your concerns about skimming are valid, but it's not fair to call it a "stupid idea." In fact, it's exactly how the Apple Watch Series 2 works in Japan (as is noted in earlier posts).