Is Apple's Digital Wallet Set To Kill The Card Swipe?


BANGALORE: Does Apple want the plastic credit card to become as rare as the paper check? Well, it looks like that.  In a bid to help people pay their retail store purchases, the Cupertino based tech giant announced ‘Apple Pay’ that will let users use their phones rather than cash or credit card, reports IndiaTimes.

Even though the contactless payment isn't new in the market, with big companies like Starbucks, McDonald's, PayPal, Google and Square offering their own services, only a small portion of customers use them. With the Apple Pay now introduced into the market, some experts believe that its presence on millions of iPhones and its advanced security features could be the service that leads to widespread adoption of the digital wallet.

But despite this big launch, Apple still faces challenges making that vision a reality. The company and other digital wallet providers still have to find a way to make shoppers believe that the transactions are safe—especially in the wake of increasing high-profile data breaches. Meanwhile, it is also said that the company will make a case to retailers that it's worth for them to invest in new point-of-sale systems. 

"There's no doubt young people want to use phones to make payments, but they have to have a place to pay," says Gartner analyst, Avivah Litan. She predicts bigger retailers will see how well Apple partners like McDonald's do before they move into mobile payments.

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