So I bought an HID Omnikey USB RFID/NFC scanner and downloaded a program called cardpeek onto my computer to see exactly what the iPhone sends over when you use Apple Pay. After selecting EMV mode I put my phone over the reader, selected my Bank of America Visa card and let cardpeek scan my phone. This produced all sorts of information but tag 9F6C in particular caught my attention:
Google led me to this page and according to it, Apple Pay sent the "Consumer Device CVM Performed" flag to my "terminal". Basically this flag indicates that the cardholder was verified using a mobile phone instead of a signature or PIN.
If that's the case, why are people still having to sign/enter a PIN when using Apple Pay? Apparently Apple Pay supports two separate modes: EMV mode (similar to what would happen if you insert a chip card) and a magstripe mode that treats the transaction as though you swiped a normal card. My guess is that stores that have NFC turned on right now only support the magstripe mode and are using the same logic that is used for swiping. I'm also thinking that stores won't support EMV mode for NFC until they turn on the chip slots at the bottom of their new terminals. Hopefully this happens by October but it depends on the stores.
Out of curiosity, has anyone been able to pay for more than $50 in items with Apple Pay and not have to sign or enter a PIN? At least for swiping, $50 seems to be the limit that triggers having to sign for purchases.
BTW my phone is running iOS 8.3 though I don't think it matters as long as your phone can do Apple Pay.

Google led me to this page and according to it, Apple Pay sent the "Consumer Device CVM Performed" flag to my "terminal". Basically this flag indicates that the cardholder was verified using a mobile phone instead of a signature or PIN.
If that's the case, why are people still having to sign/enter a PIN when using Apple Pay? Apparently Apple Pay supports two separate modes: EMV mode (similar to what would happen if you insert a chip card) and a magstripe mode that treats the transaction as though you swiped a normal card. My guess is that stores that have NFC turned on right now only support the magstripe mode and are using the same logic that is used for swiping. I'm also thinking that stores won't support EMV mode for NFC until they turn on the chip slots at the bottom of their new terminals. Hopefully this happens by October but it depends on the stores.
Out of curiosity, has anyone been able to pay for more than $50 in items with Apple Pay and not have to sign or enter a PIN? At least for swiping, $50 seems to be the limit that triggers having to sign for purchases.
BTW my phone is running iOS 8.3 though I don't think it matters as long as your phone can do Apple Pay.