Apple Pay Cash Adds New Dimension to iOS 11 Mobile Payments

The world of buying goods and services is changing rapidly and a growing number of consumers are using their smartphones to pay for the products and services they buy. Many of those consumers chosen the Apple Pay mobile-payment service that allows them make purchases in stores, online or within in applications. Apple started releasing a new iOS 11 feature the week of Dec. 4 that allows users to send cash to each other via Apple Pay. Collectively, Apple Pay represents a paradigm shift in the way people pay for purchases and for many users it can be a bit daunting to learn how it works. This slide show discusses Apple Pay’s features and how to use it effectively.

To use Apple Pay, users need to have compatible Apple mobile devices that can communicate with near-field communication pads. Users must have credit and debit card that work with Apple Pay while merchants need to have the proper point-of-sale devices.

Apple Pay Cash is the newest feature. With help from iMessage, users can send cash to friends and family. The feature is currently available only in the U.S., but allows users to take cash from their Apple Pay accounts and send it to others. It’s similar to Square Cash and Venmo.

Apple is adding card providers at a rapid clip. Currently the vast majority of major card providers, including American Express, Bank of America, and others, support the service. Apple is also enables local banks to expand debit card support.

Brick-and-mortar retailers work with Apple Pay. In fact, any retail outlet that has a near-field communication logo or an Apple Pay logo will be able to use the mobile payments app. Some of the world’s biggest retailers offer support, including the Apple Store, Walgreens and many others. However, Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, doesn’t support Apple Pay. Instead, Walmart offers its own proprietary mobile payment service.

In addition to making purchases in stores, Apple Pay users can buy products in apps. Built into the Apple development kit, developers that sell products or services through their applications can enable customers to make purchases using Apple Pay. Once users are ready to make a purchase, they use the biometric features built into Apple devices, including Touch ID and Face ID, and authorize the transaction. It’s a simple and secure way to buy products in apps.

Apple has also brought Apple Pay to the Mac. Within the Safari browser, users can browse to e-retail sites that work with Apple Pay and make a purchase. If customers choose Apple Pay as their checkout method, they’ll be asked to verify the transaction on an iPhone or other Apple Pay-enabled device and make the purchase.

Apple Pay is widely considered one of the safest ways to buy products. Rather than sharing credit card numbers with merchants, Apple Pay creates a unique payment identifier to authorize a transaction. A person’s private information is never shared. So in the event hackers target a merchant, Apple Pay users will more than likely find themselves safe from harm.

The Apple Pay Wallet is designed to support far more than just credit and debit cards. In fact, it can be a repository for gift cards and loyalty cards. It can also be the place to store boarding passes, tickets, and rewards cards.

In a bid to expand Apple Pay’s appeal, Apple also offers support for the service on its Apple Watch wearable. From the app, users can open the Wallet app and make a purchase with the credit and debit cards stored in the repository. Users can hold their Apple Watch units close to a payment terminal to make a purchase as they would with an iPhone.

One of the things Apple keeps close to the vest is how much it charges for Apple Pay and how the company actually generates revenue from the service. However, currently there are no services charges for consumers to use Apple Pay. Instead, the company makes revenue off its business partners.