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Yes... I saw your link from Apple showing that 16 banks are currently active with Apple Pay.

And I posted a link from Apple saying that they are working with 500 upcoming banks... but you disregarded it.

It's funny though... your link is missing Suntrust and Regions Bank. Maybe it's time for Apple to update the list, huh.

I didn't "disregard" anything. I know what the PR says. I just said I'd believe it when it actually happens. All PR gets the same treatment from me.'

Yes, we will have to wait and see. That was my point.

And it isn't "my" link, it's Apple's link. Oddly the article here says Apple updated the list to include Regions, but if it was there before, it isn't at the moment.
 
Hmmmm... I thought the benefit is that it is a safe way to pay versus regular credit/debit cards. (one-time tokens, retailers don't get your credit card number and other personal information, etc)

I never thought Apple Pay was designed so that you could leave your entire wallet at home.

You still need to carry your driver's licence, insurance cards, etc.

I personally have no problem about the security of my credit cards and/or debit cards at all. They all come with $0 liability anyway. For Apple Pay, being secure is a benefit that's true, but no big deal for me. But it would be a big deal if I was able to use it almost every store that I visit in a daily routine..

Just like my Starbucks card, in the past I had to carry the physical card and now all I take with me is my iPhone when I'm going to a store. And that's the best thing ever.. I want to have the same convenience anywhere possible..
 
Used to be a Regions customer and switched to a local bank because Regions was too far across town. Moved to a different part of town, now I'm close to a Regions location... big bummer.

And my local bank isn't listed on Visa or Mastercard's "coming soon" list. When asked by the bank, I was told that they don't have a plan to support Apple Pay or even EMV w/ Chip & Signature!
 
Used to be a Regions customer and switched to a local bank because Regions was too far across town. Moved to a different part of town, now I'm close to a Regions location... big bummer.

And my local bank isn't listed on Visa or Mastercard's "coming soon" list. When asked by the bank, I was told that they don't have a plan to support Apple Pay or even EMV w/ Chip & Signature!
Where's the Visa/Mastercard "coming soon" list? I'm dying to find out if some of Regions competitors are on the list, because if not, I may be switching banks
 
Here's the setup process so far for the Regions Check Card.

1. Enter the card into Passbook. No problem.
2. Passbook says that you have to call an 800 number to verify the card with Regions.
3. The 800 number doesn't have an option to verify for Apple Pay
4. Call 1-800-Regions. No relevant option and can't get to a real person
5. Call local branch. They have no idea what Apple Pay is and give you a different 800 number
6. Currently on hold while the first representative transfers me to a different representative.
7. Waiting...

It would be nice if Bank's like Regions let ALL of their representatives know what Apple Pay is and how it works before they make the announcement to the public.


Update: The first representative came back after 10 minutes and said there is an extended hold time for the second representative.

Status: Card not verified after 25 minutes of attempting.

So basically:

1. Add card to passbook
2. Call to verify and get put on hold

Don't know how you turned that into 7 "steps"...
 
I didn't "disregard" anything. I know what the PR says. I just said I'd believe it when it actually happens. All PR gets the same treatment from me.

If Apple had the reputation of lying in their press releases... then yeah I'd be cautious.

But I don't think they're known for that.

Tim Cook said 500 new banks have signed up... and they also issued a press release saying the same thing.

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What exactly do you not believe?

Do you think that number is too high? Maybe only 100 banks have signed up?

Apple says a lot of things in their announcements and press releases. Apple said the iPhone 6 would launch on September 19th. Luckily it did.

But did you not believe that would happen?
 
If Apple had the reputation of lying in their press releases... then yeah I'd be cautious.

This is quite a cynical mindset.

PR is PR. It's designed to build up expectations, realistic or otherwise, and should always be taken that way. I'm surprised neither of you have figured that out yet, or maybe you believe Apple is so completely different in this way that you never have to look at the difference between their PR and what is actually happening.

I should not need to explain what I do or don't "believe" any further. My point is made. You either can decide to respond to it, or not. So far, it would appear not.
 
PR is PR. It's designed to build up expectations, realistic or otherwise, and should always be taken that way. I'm surprised neither of you have figured that out yet, or maybe you believe Apple is so completely different in this way that you never have to look at the difference between their PR and what is actually happening.

I should not need to explain what I do or don't "believe" any further. My point is made. You either can decide to respond to it, or not. So far, it would appear not.

Let's sum up your argument here.

"Apple says they've come to terms with 500 banks which will soon be rolling out. This is just PR. PR is only meant to draw hype. Therefore I won't believe Apple really has 500 banks on board until it actually happens because Apple may be lying about the 500 banks. If you think otherwise, you are either stupid, oblivious, or Apple fanboys who think Apple is different from all other companies. On the other hand, I don't need to explain why I believe what I believe."

Did I miss anything?
 
PR is PR. It's designed to build up expectations, realistic or otherwise, and should always be taken that way. I'm surprised neither of you have figured that out yet, or maybe you believe Apple is so completely different in this way that you never have to look at the difference between their PR and what is actually happening.

I should not need to explain what I do or don't "believe" any further. My point is made. You either can decide to respond to it, or not. So far, it would appear not.

It's just weird to see someone rail against Apple PR (or a single slide in an Apple keynote) in such a manner. That's why we're puzzled.

So is all PR bad? When a movie is coming out... the studio does tons of PR leading up to its release.

There is a movie poster that says "Coming May 15, 2015"

What would you think? Should you not believe it until you actually see the movie up on the big screen on that date?

Because until then... it's all lies... right? :D
 
C'mon Simple, usually you're so fast to support new features! :(

Simple isn't a bank, so it seems unlikely to come. Simple is a white label product from the Bancorp Bank, an issuer of prepaid cards that provides everything from the Google Wallet virtual cards to the rip-off scam cards used by employers to avoid paying their employees their full wage by taking a chunk in fees.
 
Strange. I added both my personal and my business Regions cards last night without having to call in. They both were activated successfully and ready for Apple Pay wishing about 30 seconds.
 
Usually patience :D

Chase set the bar for patience when my card was instantly activated.

The headline should be: Regions Adds support for Apple Pay, doesn't tell their Reps resulting in a horrible customer experience.

I just got off the phone with my 7th Regions rep who said that verification is random and depends on if the system is able to verify at any given time. She said I would be verified in 5-10 minutes. We'll see....
 
I wonder what the possibility of small local banks adding Applepay is.

It probably will be a mixed bag. One of my local banks said they're in the process of re-coding their system to accept Apple Pay. But another local bank basically said no way, they're not going to bother. Guess which bank will get more of my business?
 
I wonder what the possibility of small local banks adding Applepay is. I would love to use Applepay with my debit card, but my bank and all 5 of its location probably wont be offering it anytime soon.

It depends on how tech-savvy, and willing to spend money on customer improvements the bank is. Implementing ApplePay will cost money, not all banks will be willing to pay it. But if you have a reasonably tech-savvy local bank, it won't be long - many smaller local banks are supporting it already.
 
Let's sum up your argument here.

"Apple says they've come to terms with 500 banks which will soon be rolling out. This is just PR. PR is only meant to draw hype. Therefore I won't believe Apple really has 500 banks on board until it actually happens because Apple may be lying about the 500 banks. If you think otherwise, you are either stupid, oblivious, or Apple fanboys who think Apple is different from all other companies. On the other hand, I don't need to explain why I believe what I believe."

Did I miss anything?

Pretty much everything.

----------

More like small banks are worried about Apple Pay favoring large banks.

Apple Pay Could Leave Smaller Banks Behind - American Banker

And overseas, the percentage that Apple reportedly wants, is too large for many banks whose fees are even more limited than in the US.

Thanks. This is exactly what I mean. I don't expect much interest in discussing it besides you and I though.

----------

It's just weird to see someone rail against Apple PR (or a single slide in an Apple keynote) in such a manner. That's why we're puzzled.

So is all PR bad? When a movie is coming out... the studio does tons of PR leading up to its release.

There is a movie poster that says "Coming May 15, 2015"

What would you think? Should you not believe it until you actually see the movie up on the big screen on that date?

Because until then... it's all lies... right? :D

I am not "railing" against Apple PR. You spin everything I write to make it easy for you to respond without addressing any of the questions I've actually raised. This is a very obvious and tiresome effort to obfuscate the issue and waste time.
 
It says here pre-paid cards are also included.

As it's pre-paid it means no credit check, does that mean that those outside the US could get one of the pre-paid cards for use within the US?

I'd like to have something like that for my visits to the US. Something I can load with cash and use ideally with Apple Pay but also the physical card in places that don't support Apple Pay.

I'd feel much more comfortable doing this than using my UK cards with the swipe and sign method. As we use Chip & PIN in the UK the only time my card gets swiped is in the US so that's when my details are most vulnerable.

So - yes I'd like it for the security, but it would be also nice to try out Apple Pay on my next trip to the US too ;)

BTW anyone from London reading this, to promote contactless travel in London Mastercard are offering free travel tomorrow (14 Nov) on TFL services (tube, bus, rail, etc) all you need to do is tap your card on the barriers, only difference is if you're using a Mastercard that day you won't be charged!

Here's an offer from Amex of spend £5 on contactless travel get £5 back.

Contactless (NFC) technology is really getting promoted heavily in London at the moment.
 
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As it's pre-paid it means no credit check, does that mean that those outside the US could get one of the pre-paid cards for use within the US?

I would think you'd need to be a customer of the U.S. bank, and opening the account from abroad would be difficult as you normally have to be present at a branch to open any bank account. Might be worth asking though. They might have an affiliate bank in the UK.

Don't spend a lot of time worrying about swiping your credit cards over here. Thefts are rare, considering the millions of daily transactions. A far bigger risk in my experience is providing your card data to online merchants.
 
Where's the Visa/Mastercard "coming soon" list? I'm dying to find out if some of Regions competitors are on the list, because if not, I may be switching banks

Here's Visa's. Click on the drop down box and select "Coming Soon". There's several hundreds of banks listed.

I can't find the MasterCard one at the moment... but there is a list similar to the Visa list.
 
Chase set the bar for patience when my card was instantly activated.

The headline should be: Regions Adds support for Apple Pay, doesn't tell their Reps resulting in a horrible customer experience.

I just got off the phone with my 7th Regions rep who said that verification is random and depends on if the system is able to verify at any given time. She said I would be verified in 5-10 minutes. We'll see....

Good luck,

This is the tax of being tech savvy and early adopter.

For the reps it might be related to some organisations outsourcing thier call centres to India and probably the reps there are not updated about Apple pay yet.
 
PR is PR. It's designed to build up expectations, realistic or otherwise, and should always be taken that way. I'm surprised neither of you have figured that out yet, or maybe you believe Apple is so completely different in this way that you never have to look at the difference between their PR and what is actually happening.

I should not need to explain what I do or don't "believe" any further. My point is made. You either can decide to respond to it, or not. So far, it would appear not.

Not sure whats the problem. Apple says 500 more banks have signed up. Just because 475 may decide to use it does not mean Apple lied. Banks can pull out of it at the last minute. People need to read and actually understand what they read.
 
Not sure whats the problem. Apple says 500 more banks have signed up. Just because 475 may decide to use it does not mean Apple lied. Banks can pull out of it at the last minute. People need to read and actually understand what they read.

I never said anyone "lied," so I am tired of having that word thrown back in my face. Perhaps you should take you own advice, and try reading and understanding what people say, and it wasn't that. Once again, for the cheap seats: The actual fact is, we don't know what Apple means by "signed up." We only know that these banks are not currently offering the product and we also can't be sure when or if they will. The other question I raised is whether small banks are on board. The evidence already supplied suggests that they are not flocking to Apple Pay because the terms favor the large banks.
 
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