White House Announces Apple Pay Support for Federal Payment Cards

[MacRumors]

Just ahead of Tim Cook's speech at today's Cybersecurity Summit, The White House has announced federal-payment cards are gaining Apple Pay support, reports Bloomberg. People who receive veterans and Social Security benefits from the government via debit card will now be able to use those cards with Apple Pay.

The deal includes the Direct Express payment network and government cards issued through GSA SmartPay, which handles more than 87.4 million transaction worth $26.4 billion each year, according to the General Services Administration.

Apple Pay has been lauded by banks and other payment industry executives for its security, and its acceptance by the federal government is a valuable endorsement for the service.

Apple Pay is seen as a highly secure solution due to its use of tokenization, which generates a unique code for each transaction to prevent actual credit card numbers from being shared. It also protects all consumer data like name and address, and it further ensures secure payments through fingerprint verification with Touch ID.

Currently, Apple Pay is only available in the United States, but it is set to expand internationally in the coming months. Apple Pay for China is expected in the near future, through a partnership with China's UnionPay.

Update: As outlined by Apple CEO Tim Cook, government support for Apple Pay will also enable people to pay for things like access to national parks with Apple Pay, beginning in September.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: White House Announces Apple Pay Support for Federal Payment Cards

 

[SilianRail]

It's highly inappropriate for the federal government to be kicking back a vig to a private corporation for SS benefits.

Also another step towards the government eliminating cash and tracking every transaction.

 

[tmiw]

Any possibility that the physical cards will have contactless/NFC support especially since they're all switching to chip?

It's highly inappropriate for the federal government to be kicking back a vig to a private corporation for SS benefits.

Also another step towards the government eliminating cash and tracking every transaction.

You realize it's likely the bank they contracted the card issuance out to that's doing this, right?

 

[taptic]

I love how all the android users were all saying that they had had NFC for so long now and that apple wasn't doing anything new...

Well at least apple pay is getting noticed.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

[Retracted]

 

[iMerik]

It's highly inappropriate for the federal government to be kicking back a vig to a private corporation for SS benefits.

Also another step towards the government eliminating cash and tracking every transaction.

They already issue cards where payment processors make transaction fee profits. This is just allowing it to work with Pay just like every other card that has done the same. This isn't the start to anything new aside from a little more convenience provided by Pay.

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Oh boy, people receiving welfare can now spend it with Pay.

So the neediest among us can now use their expensive phones and watches to buy other expensive products (since, with the exception of McDonald's, it sounds like mostly it's the more costly brands that are accepting Pay thus far.)

Because those with "veterans and Social Security benefits" shouldn't have a little more convenience. Because having a device that supports Pay means our retirees and veterans somehow don't deserve what they have.

 

[scjr]

Queue the, 'it's all Obama's fault' crowd.

 

[iBlazed]

Queue the, 'it's all Obama's fault' crowd.

Too late...

Oh boy, people receiving welfare can now spend it with Pay.

Didn't take long for someone to post the first uneducated, uninformed right wing comment without even reading the article. You people are the bane of this country.

 

[xionxiox]

Oh boy, people receiving welfare can now spend it with Pay.

So the neediest among us can now use their expensive phones and watches to buy other expensive products (since, with the exception of McDonald's, it sounds like mostly it's the more costly brands that are accepting Pay thus far.)

MacRumors users never pass up the chance to not read.

 

[scaredpoet]

Oh boy, people receiving welfare can now spend it with Pay. So the neediest among us can now use their expensive phones and watches to buy other expensive products (since, with the exception of McDonald's, it sounds like mostly it's the more costly brands that are accepting Pay thus far.)

Welfare for those in poverty is disbursed by the states, not through federal payment cards. To date, not a single social welfare program to assist those in poverty are going through Apple Pay.

Social Security, unlike what some politicians would like you to think, is paid for and earned by Americans who have worked and paid into the system over many years. It's an insurance plan, not a bleeding-heart handout.

And if you feel Veterans Benefits are "welfare," then I submit you are a vile human being.

 

[nouveau-apple]

THIS MEANS I GET TO USE THIS WITH EBT???

Omg is this active today? I love Apple & the government for this!!

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Welfare for those in poverty is disbursed by the states, not through federal payment cards. To date, not a single social welfare program to assist those in poverty are going through Apple Pay.

I was not aware of this. I knew that states handled some welfare programs but I didn't realize the federal government was involved in none.

Social Security, unlike what some politicians would like you to think, is paid for and earned by Americans who have worked and paid into the system over many years. It's an insurance plan, not a bleeding-heart handout.

And if you feel Veterans Benefits are "welfare," then I submit you are a vile human being.

I am aware of the above/concur with you.

 

[scaredpoet]

I was not aware of this. I knew that states handled some welfare programs but I didn't realize the federal government was involved in none.

The federal government provides subsidies to the states, and then it's up to the states to combine their own funding with it, determine how those subsidies get doled out, who fits the criteria, and what, if anything, people have to do to qualify. The same goes for Medicaid.

That's not to say a state couldn't someday decide that Apple Pay is the way to go, but that's not what's happening here, right now.

 

[jonblatho]

I was not aware of this. I knew that states handled some welfare programs but I didn't realize the federal government was involved in none.

Welfare doesn't even have anything to do with this. Had you so much as read the article and done a little research before rushing to comment, you'd have known this.

 

[yg17]

Welfare for those in poverty is disbursed by the states, not through federal payment cards. To date, not a single social welfare program to assist those in poverty are going through Apple Pay.

Social Security, unlike what some politicians would like you to think, is paid for and earned by Americans who have worked and paid into the system over many years. It's an insurance plan, not a bleeding-heart handout.

And if you feel Veterans Benefits are "welfare," then I submit you are a vile human being.

Get out of here with your facts, they have no place in PRSI

 

[TimelessOne]

I love how all the android users were all saying that they had had NFC for so long now and that apple wasn't doing anything new...

Well at least apple pay is getting noticed.

I could say that I love how apple fans love to throw insults blindly.
As an android user the only reason I cared about Apple getting ncf for payment is so it could use it blindly following masses to push for it to finally be used everyone.

 

[coffeemadmanUK]

Anyone care to simplify what this means to us non-US folk?

Does this mean some social benefits are being used via Apple Pay?

Confused!

 

[waldobushman]

It's highly inappropriate for the federal government to be kicking back a vig to a private corporation for SS benefits.

Also another step towards the government eliminating cash and tracking every transaction.

All payments to the government are performed via private corporations. All banks are privately owned, including the entire Federal Reserve Banks. Whenever you use a debit or credit card to pay the Federal government, you are using privately issued corporations' services, who then get their 3% plus.

This is also true for paying for state or municipal services, such as water bill, property taxes, etc.

Finally, trying to eliminate the vast ignorance expressed your comment, "tracking" every transaction. Well, I hope the governments track transactions. If I received money from the Feds or state or municipal governments, I hope they track the transactions to the penny. They all are supposed to be using GAAP, which kind of requires that.

 

[coolspot18]

Is this for welfare payment? Why are people using such expensive phones when they're on a government subsidy?

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Is this for welfare payment? Why are people using such expensive phones when they're on a government subsidy?

Same reason why damn near everyone on government benefits has both an Xbox One and PS4 with a 1080p 3D TV in every room with 8 cable boxes and the highest speed internet that cost four times their monthly rent. As a former cable guy, I can say the abuse is real and widespread.

 

[taptic]

I could say that I love how apple fans love to throw insults blindly.
As an android user the only reason I cared about Apple getting ncf for payment is so it could use it blindly following masses to push for it to finally be used everyone.

relax. I know both parties have their faults. and I've used android in the past as well.

 

[oddnendz]

Is this for welfare payment? Why are people using such expensive phones when they're on a government subsidy?

Read the damn post..... Social Security and Veteran benefits....

People who receive veterans and Social Security benefits from the government via debit card will now be able to use those cards with Apple Pay.

 

[Mercury]

Welfare for those in poverty
Social Security, unlike what some politicians would like you to think, is paid for and earned by Americans who have worked and paid into the system over many years. It's an insurance plan, not a bleeding-heart handout.

While this is mostly true, there's also Title 16 Social Security Supplemental Security Income, which acts as a federal welfare program for disabled people who have not paid into the system.

 

[noodlemanc]

Social Security, unlike what some politicians would like you to think, is paid for and earned by Americans who have worked and paid into the system over many years. It's an insurance plan, not a bleeding-heart handout.

Well, theoretically. It's pretty well documented though that SS is a Ponzi scheme and the payments are made by younger people still working, not the money that the retired people paid I'm decades ago. Doesn't really make much difference here though, because it's not their fault that their money got stolen.

 

[wigby]

Then you can call anything a Ponzi scheme because we are never technically getting back "our" money that we save. It's just someone else's that is now re-allocated to us.

Does it benefit people that fed into the system and work as a system? Yes. Is it perfect? No.

Move along.