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I am in Canada, and I don't see any incentive to use my iPhone to pay for something, versus my tap bank card. The bank card works, is smaller and lighter and has unlimited battery life.
 
Only thing cards have going for them is ubiquity. They are not faster, easier or more secure than Apple Pay.

"Fiddle"? Your bias is showing. Two clicks on the watch button, hold at terminal for 1/2 second, hear the chime, feel the vibe, and Done!
My SS Apple Watch was quite nice for what it was. I never comment on a product I dont have first hand ownership experience with.

Fiddle is what one does as they setup a new Apple Watch, become accustomed to it, then respond to the demands of battery charging, app updates, watch face tinkering, notification setting and other compelling, yet time wasting tasks.

Finding no true benefits of interest to me, I am happy that I satisfied my curiosity and even happier that I returned it for credit.

You may notice, no where does it say Apple Watch is essential.
 
This article is ridiculous ... Most of the countries outside of the US has only just seen adoption in the last couple of weeks.

Canada literally didn't officially support it until 2 weeks ago and the 3 major banks signed this morning....

This is a classic bait title and has zero grounds of truth. Canada twitter lit up this morning in celebration of apple pay.

Has nothing to do with bait articles. The USA is 5 - 10 years behind the rest of the world. We've had Chip and Pin machines for almost 15 years, Contacltess started 10 years ago. Apple Pay just doesn't matter in the rest of the world.

Do not know about the rest of the world, but in the UK almost all new cards issued for anything are contactless now. From Library Cards to Bus Passes.
 
Personally I think it's great! In my case it was almost 12 months before it came to my bank.
 
I use Apple Pay via my watch. If the NFC reader is turned on at the store, my purchase goes through without a problem. Even if they do not support Apple Pay.....the NFC will still process the information. I rarely need to take my card from my wallet now. I enjoy it.
 
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The only thing surprising is that the headline suggests ApplePay is doing OK inside the U.S. I think TC and co assumed ApplePay, being an Apple product, would automatically go viral after time like the iDevices did. Apple put zero marketing effort into the project, just as it ignores home kit. But especially when you are trying to break entrenched habits like whipping out a credit card some serious behavior change methods are needed.

When AP launched Apple should have promoted the hell out of it, funded contests, games w/ cheap prizes, mall demonstrations in major malls everywhere or even in Apple Stores, anything to get people's attention, raise awareness, get ordinary people excited to use it.

As it is now it's mostly Apple fans that are Apple Pay aware which is maybe 10% off all iPhone users. And only a fraction of those actually use Apple Pay. I use it w/ my AW when I can find a store I shop at that accept its. Which is another huge problem. Apple has done a good job getting banks onboard, but has dropped the ball with merchants. And that hurts the product too. If you can't use it it falls out of people's memory. I'm in DC I can think of a mere handful of chains that accept it. Pitiful. It should be, it must be, universal. But again, Apple is distracted with too many projects at one time, so everything is a moderate success at best, but nothing gangbusters.

Botton line is Apple mistakenly though a few ads and releasing press releases announcing lists of new banks would be enough. Normal people glaze over. Swipe or putting a card in a chip reader is simple -- maybe time consuming w/ a chip reader but no set up and easy concept. That is what Apple is up against and why ApplePay is a sleeper.

Add to the mix the value proposition was off. The big selling point for Apple Pay in the US was being able to make secure/anonymous transactions. At the time it was release pretty much every consumer had probably had their credit/debit card information hacked. But other than the inconvenience of getting replacement cards, they didn't feel any pain. I think that Apple hoped consumer pressure for more secure transaction would put pressure on retails to allow Apple Pay. But there was no groundswell.

As you said, the majority of iPhone users aren't aware of Apple Pay or using it on a regular basis. Until you change the hoping habits of the critical mass - not just diehard Apple fans, adoption is going to be slow.

C&P is closing the security issue, so the sell really moves to 'convenience'. But until NFC gains critical mass (or Apple pay takes a page from Samsung Pay and works with MST terminals), it'll be hard to gain critical mass their either.
 
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I use Apple Pay every day here in Canada. Works much more reliable using iPhone vs. tapping a card around a reader with no feedback. Apple Watch on the other hand is unreliable and doesn't work half the time... I try my watch and doesn't work then have to use iPhone right after and sometimes the employee has to restart the transaction. Therefore I rarely use watch because it wastes time and could potentially hold up the line. Also looks goofy holding my wrist at weird angle to some terminals.
 
I can tell you I'm getting a hell of a lot more use outta that computer than you are with that Dick Tracy gadget.
Doubt it. I put my watch on at 7 am take it off around 10 pm, tracks my activity, documents my workouts, answers calls in car, sends notifications, reply to messages, controls my GoPro, to name just a few. Repeat 7 days a week. A very big challenge for you to use your computer as much as I use my watch. I have a MacBook, iPhone, and other Apple devices that are all very useful. I consider each and everyone of them an integral part of my daily technology needs. The Apple Watch fills in the gaps between the other Apple products nicely, again 15 plus hours a day 7 days a week. Just saying.
 
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When using a chip reader, there is an end-to-end encrypted connection between the chip in the card and the authorization system, to prevent man in the middle and replay attacks. So, you have to wait until the transaction completes.

The tokenization standard used by Apple Pay prevents these attacks with a different method. The transaction goes much faster.

Good points, thanks. I guess a few seconds just doesn't seem all that slow, so I'm fine either way. The privacy thing is good though.

I think the real question is why the chip reader processing is so slow.

Maybe I'm just not paying close enough attention, but it never seemed that slow to me (most places... some of the little shops with the handheld wireless units can be quite slow).

And Apple Pay is more secure than swiping, because my account number is never communicated to the store, and can't be picked up by skimming devices. The tokenized number is only good for that store, and usually just for that transaction. It's useless to anyone who intercepts the signal.

Yes, that's a benefit.

This is not a time for me to be trying to find my credit cards among all the other cards in my wallet. ... sign (also redundant, but also something I'd have to do with the card), take the receipt, and go. ... First world problems, I know, but I'll gladly trade all that character-building that fumbling with my wallet gains me for the extra time and security of tokenized contactless payments using my wristwatch.

Ahh, maybe more a credit-card thing. I hardly ever use a credit card, and I only have one debit card I usually have to deal with, so that part is pretty simple... and there's no signing. Worst case, I put the chip in the slot and enter a pin. But, it's pretty easy and fast. But, yes, the tokenized/anonymous aspect is a benefit.
 
The Canadian part of this report is extremely skewed as 3 of the 5 major banks signed on around 2 weeks ago ... And the others (and arguably the most popular) signed on THIS MORNING.

Skewed how? The report mentions nothing regarding Canada. The second paragraph of the Reuters story even notes that the 5 big banks in Canada were recently added.
 
I tried Apple Pay once in Singapore at the #1 supermarket chain by far: FairPrice. I won't be trying it again any time soon.

FairPrice is part of the big LinkPoints loyalty card program, and one of the major banks (OCBC) issues "Plus" credit and debit cards, the only payment cards within the LinkPoints program. (There's also a standalone LinkPoints card, but that's not popular.) These cards are already contactless, but "dual" and even "tri" contactless cards are quite common in Singapore. The Plus cards are contactless for both LinkPoints and Visa. Many other cards are contactless for EZ-Link or NETS plus a major card network like Visa or MasterCard. POSB even has a card that's triple contactless for the PAssion points program, EZ-Link, and MasterCard.

With that background, here's how Apple Pay "works." You register your already contactless OCBC card with Apple Pay. So far, so good. Then you go shop at FairPrice and head to the register to check out. Before payment you try to give FairPrice your LinkPoints number using Apple Pay. That doesn't work. You have to pull out your OCBC Plus card and, via contactless exchange, FairPrice gets your LinkPoints number. So then can you pay via Apple Pay? Well, yes, you can. But why on earth would you do that? You just pulled out your contactless OCBC Plus card for the LinkPoints, so just tap it again on the same contactless terminal to pay. Apple Pay just slows you (and those behind you) down, a lot.

It's not just FairPrice. Did Apple even step into a supermarket or pharmacy in Singapore to see how this stuff works before trying to roll out Apple Pay in this country? I wonder. Singapore is chock full of double and triple contactless cards that combine loyalty programs, stored value networks, and credit/debit payment networks. Apple Pay doesn't seem to support any more than the contactless credit/debit payment networks (Visa, MasterCard, American Express). For example, at Guardian (pharmacy), Cold Storage (high end supermarket), and Giant (mid-market supermarket) -- all part of the same conglomerate -- the loyalty program is the PAssion card. So if you use your POSB PAssion debit card, you can collect your points and pay with two contactless taps of the same card. Why use Apple Pay for the second tap? Of course you wouldn't. It doesn't make any sense.
 
I am in Canada, and I don't see any incentive to use my iPhone to pay for something, versus my tap bank card. The bank card works, is smaller and lighter and has unlimited battery life.

And it can be skimmed by fraudsters. Seriously, with all the Apple Pay articles how do people not understand the reason to use it is for the added security and to reduce fraud?
 
Hong Kong has had a contactless card system operating flawlessly for the last 19 years. All forms of public transport, virtually every minor retail outlet, through to paying for your stay at hospital for having a baby is all paid on the "octopus" card (which can't be skimmed). While a few years behind, most other countries are getting similar things in place. Glad USA is catching up, but there's no incentive for the rest of the world to adopt.
 
Skewed how? The report mentions nothing regarding Canada. The second paragraph of the Reuters story even notes that the 5 big banks in Canada were recently added.

They said: "but has met resistance in Australia, Britain and Canada where banks are building their own products"

How can they include Canada in that when it was revealed that the delay was due to Interac implementing the tokenization system for transaction? This sentence implies these banks want to make their own system.
 
I am in Canada, and I don't see any incentive to use my iPhone to pay for something, versus my tap bank card. The bank card works, is smaller and lighter and has unlimited battery life.
Using touch-ID is faster than keying in a 6-digit passcode for my debit card. Plus, it's cool, I like that it keeps a log of my purchases, and between an Apple solution and another option, I will usually prefer the Apple solution so long as it is comparable in terms of ease of use and / or utility.
 
Do you mean the chip reader thing that takes like 30 seconds until it lets out a loud, horrible beep to tell you it's done? I haven't used Apple Pay, but if it's slower than that I wouldn't use it either.

It's not. That was just hyperbole. I use Apple Pay whenever possible, which thankfully is finally becoming more and more common. I never have an issue, and it is soooo much faster than either swipe or chip readers. If only the retailers were smart enough to turn off signatures for Apple Pay transactions.
 
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FairPrice is part of the big LinkPoints loyalty card program, and one of the major banks (OCBC) issues "Plus" credit and debit cards, the only payment cards within the LinkPoints program. (There's also a standalone LinkPoints card, but that's not popular.) These cards are already contactless, but "dual" and even "tri" contactless cards are quite common in Singapore.

I think the point is that Apple is trying to break that chain of data if the purchaser doesn't want to be tracked like that. Of course, they make out well in the deal too, so they aren't being completely altruistic.
 
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The reason there hasn't been a great adoption is that only one of the banks support Apple Pay...the comments about Australia are coming from the banks that won't support Apple Pay.
 
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Has nothing to do with bait articles. The USA is 5 - 10 years behind the rest of the world. We've had Chip and Pin machines for almost 15 years, Contactless started 10 years ago. Apple Pay just doesn't matter in the rest of the world.

Exactly. Uptake in the US is artificially high because Apple Pay actually offers a significant benefit over there. Contactless payments have been the norm (certainly here in Australia, but in plenty of other countries too) for the last 5 years, so why would people be drawn to this "new" service?

Most of the comments on here about Apple pay being useful convenient are actually referring to the contactless nature (no signing, pin etc) rather than using applepay in particular.

More importantly.... if the consumers don't really care, why would banks want to adopt it and pay Apple a % ? Somebody above observed that people should switch banks just to get applepay.... lol.

Personally, I might use it at the point it becomes more ubiquitous - then I could downsize my wallet - but it's kind of an all-or-nothing deal.

Also, I don't want to look like a t*t waving my phone in front of the card sensor, asking the shop assistant if they take applepay...."apple what?", "oh, nevermind *pulls-out card*"
 
Skewed how? The report mentions nothing regarding Canada. The second paragraph of the Reuters story even notes that the 5 big banks in Canada were recently added.

In addition to a lukewarm reception in the countries where it is available, Apple Pay is seeing a slow global rollout due to the need to negotiate transaction fees with multiple partners. Apple makes approximately 15 cents for every $100 spent in the United States, but has had to negotiate lower fees in some countries. Apple has also faced resistance in locations like Australia, Canada, and the UK because banks in these countries are building their own competing payment products.

I read it somewhere .. o_O
 
I've been to Walmart, Lowes, McDonalds and all looked at me like I had a .... sticking out of my head. Umm can you all please get up with the times around here. smh
 
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