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Barclay’s to implement Apple Pay by 2016

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Even though Apple Pay launched at over 250,000 locations across the United Kingdom in July, not all major banks support Apple’s payment service. Banking giant Barclay’s have however announced their plans to roll out Apple Pay early in 2016.

Even though Barclay’s UK implements Apple Pay early in the new year, no specific launch particulars or time has been officially announced, with Barclay’s CEO of Personal and Corporate Banking, Ashok Vaswani stating in a customer email to Techradar’s Mike Jobson:

“We have signed up for ApplePay and will launch it very early in the New Year. We truly value your custom and hope that you continue to bank with us particularly since we are launching this shortly.”

Here is a list of the UK banking institutions that support Apple Pay, excluding Barclay’s imminent integration:

  • American Express
  • Bank of Scotland
  • First Direct
  • Halifax
  • HSBC
  • Lloyds
  • M&S Bank
  • MBNA
  • Nationwide Building Society
  • NatWest
  • Royal Bank of Scotland
  • Santander
  • Ulster Bank

Barclay’s Late Adoption of Apple Pay

Barclay’s is the last major UK based banking institution to adopt Apple Pay as a supported platform. It is unclear as to why Barclay’s took so long to integrate Apple Pay, but it is fantastic news for many nonetheless. The delay experienced is most likely due to Barclay’s development of their own contact-less payment system, although this is just speculation.

The arrival of Apple Pay for Barclay’s customers may come in as soon as four or five months. The only banking institution in the UK still to adopt Apple Pay is TSB. With eleven banks in the United Kingdom already supporting Apple Pay it is likely that FSB will follow suit, Barclay’s eventually have!

While no official statement regarding the late option of Apple’s mobile payment gateway has been declared, it is evident that Barclay’s have sent a clear message to competitors. They pay attention to their own endeavours first, as any leading business should do. Barclay’s adoption of Apple Pay eventually is arriving, but it is clear they were in no hurry.

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Apple Pay and the Apple Watch: Initial Feedback

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Apple Pay is the mobile payment option by Apple. It is available on Apple Watch, iPad Mini 3, iPad Air 2, and iPhone 5 & 6 models. To use Apple Pay, your Apple device has to have the NFC radio antennae or the Touch IS sensor and the correct iOS. It has tie-ups with American Express (ExpressPay), MasterCard (PayPass), and Visa (PayWave). The Apple Pay on the Apple Watch is automatically disabled when you buy it and will have to be activated using a special code. Sensors on the watch ensure that Apple Pay can only be used by the watch’s owner so anyone who wears the watch other than the owner activates the disable feature.

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Paying with an iPhone 6

The Apple Pay was revealed last September 2014 by CEO Tim Cook and was launched the following month when the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was released. According to Apple, a security code is generated for every transaction and Apple has no intention of tracking transactions. A small transaction fee is charged to the owner which is fractionally lower than normal bank charges for online payments. If the Apple device is lost, Apple Pay can be disabled remotely using the Find My iPhone service.

Last year, there were over 220,000 places in the US where the Apple Pay was accepted. Apple Pay can only be used in US stores although the company plans to expand the service eventually to other countries.

As of April this year, the feedback on Apple Pay has encouraging with 66% of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners signing up for the security code. Of the 66%, 2/3 has tried Apple Pay. Compared to other mobile wallets, Apple Pay has done significantly better on its virgin run. The biggest issue thus far with Apple Pay is the cashiers’ unfamiliarity with the payment scheme which leads to payment delays, double postings, or incorrect postings. Obviously these are just birthing blues similar to what happened with LoopPay and other mobile payment methods.

Also this April, Apple added more banks and credit unions to Apple Pay which means there are now 180 financial institutions that support Apple Pay across the country. To make 2015, the year of Apple Pay according to Tim Cooks, more interesting a new mobile payment system is set to be launched by the middle of the year. It’s called CurrentC by Merchant Content Exchange. They plan to be a very aggressive competitor to Apple Pay and uses bar codes to complete the transaction. This could very well make 2015 the year mobile payments take over.

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PayPal vs Apple Pay: How secure is your money?

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The name PayPal has become synonymous with the most popular method of Internet payment. Everyone knows of PayPal and many, many people use it. And why not? Having a secure and private method of payment online has been an incredible resource. For many of us, eBay was the first online store where we first heard about PayPal, and over the years, eBay and PayPal have had a comfortable relationship. Well, in late 2015 eBay and PayPal will be severing their ties as PayPal moves on from eBay and out on their own.

This leaves PayPal open to join with someone else. Enter Apple Pay. Apple Pay is Apple’s new payment option through its app featured on Apple products like the new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. PayPal is not only popular, but also easy to use for its customers. Here’s how it will work: iPhone users will find the PayPal app, locate the store on the app, and sign themselves in. This is done while the user is in the store, ready to make their purchase. It will be that easy. In order for the payment to go through, the iPhone user will be required to aim their phone directly at the point of payment within the store, put their finger on the Touch ID option, and then the transaction will be complete. Basically, point and shoot. A confirmation of a successful transaction will be in the form of a beep and a vibration.

So now let’s talk about the security of paying through PayPal and the Apple Pay app. The security that has been implemented for iPhone users to utilize this paying option is of the highest caliber. The benefit of having this payment option is mainly so that you don’t have to show your personal credit card information while in the store and run the risk of having your personal credit and identity breeched somehow. That said, both Apple and PayPal had to make sure that your personal credit card and bank information was extremely secure. According to PayPal, the personal information and credit card numbers of its users are “heavily guarded, both physically and electronically.” We trust their word, and they ensure to do whatever it takes to continue to guard this information.

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Pay with Touch ID (Source: Apple)

In addition, PayPal’s servers are not directly connected to the Internet, in an effort to prevent hackers from getting to that information. The only eyes that see your personal information and transactions is you, especially when you receive an email immediately after each purchase or payment through PayPal. This way, you have the ability to keep track of what is going on with your account.

Likewise with Apple Pay, your personal credit card numbers and information is secure and not seen by Apple or the employees in the stores. The way Apple Pay functions is “users take a photo of their credit card and add it to their phone’s Passbook where it is assigned a unique device account number, encrypted and stored in the phone’s Secure Element Chip.” The individual security code and the number of the device you are using will be the two items needed to complete the purchase. According to the company, “Apple will never know what you purchased, and you’ll still get rewards points on the credit cards you use.”

With all of that purchasing power in one place, there is also a protection for you if you lose your iPhone. This protection is the Find my iPhone feature. A misplaced or lost iPhone’s information can be erased completely if it’s not in the owner’s hands, and this way your private information will not be accessed by criminals.

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Why Apple Pay will change the way we checkout

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On Tuesday, Apple announced the brand new Apple Pay, a new feature that uses your iPhone to electronically pay for goods and services instead of a traditional credit or debit card. Here are some ways that it’s useful and efficient for people to use:

It’s vastly more secure than bank cards

Your average debit and credit card uses a magnetic strip along the side with a unique 16-digit number. When you swipe your card through a cashier’s card reader, the reader copies and sends your number to your bank for verification before the transaction is done. Because your card is unique, anyone who can access your card number can use your information. Your only option is to call the bank and report fraudulent charges before your bank account is drained.

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Apple Pay uses far more complex security for transactions

Instead of relying on one number, your iPhone uses “tokenization”, which can generate a random 16-digit number alongside your real 16-digit number, verify and confirm the two, and send the random number into the card reader to complete the transaction. Your iPhone will generate a completely new 16-digit number for every purchase you make, so hackers will never be able to break into your code and access your bank account.

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In addition, none of your financial information is stored in Apple’s servers or on your iPhone. According to Apple, the company does not and will not keep track of any purchases made with your iPhone. Your information will always be secure.

Your iPhone can be used at different stores around the world

Apple Pay will be used at stores and establishments throughout the world, and at any retailer with an Apple Pay-compatible register. Whole Foods, McDonald’s Subway and Sephora are some of the businesses that are ready to accept iPhone as a means of payment. Unlike in traditional card transactions, the cashier will never ask for your iPhone to enter information, nor scan the iPhone by themselves. You will have total control over you phone at all times during the transaction. McDonald’s has even announced a special drive-thru pay terminal where uses will be able to tap and connect your iPhone to pay for a meal. Convenient banking, indeed.

And if you happen to lose your phone, you will be able to log into iCloud and suspend any payments, then be able to secure your phone so you can track it down.

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Apple has announced a lot for this new mechanism, and details are still coming in. It’s very likely that all of the bugs haven’t yet been worked out of the system, and Apple is still fine-tuning the basics even as this article goes to press. Stay tuned for all the latest updates and information as it happens.

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Recap of the services and products released at Apple’s big event

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On Tuesday Apple held an event broadcast over the internet to the entire world. Information is still coming in fast and subject to change. Here are some of the highlights in case you missed the excitement:

The Apple Watch, a brand new wearable smart device, will be launched in 2015 and priced at $349. It will be used in conjunction with iPhones, but only starting with the iPhone 5 model and up. The Apple Watch will have Siri voice commands and a new “taptic” function that gently buzzes the user’s wrist for multiple uses. The Apple Watch will also have an earphone jack, wifi connectivity, a customizable HUD and full app usability, among other features. More information on the product, including a final release date, are expected in future updates.

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Two new iPhones will be released on September 19; the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. The iPhone 6 will retail in the United States for $199, and the iPhone 6 Plus will retail in the United States for $299. No word yet on pricing in other countries. Apple increased the price of its iPhones higher that ever, reflecting confidence that consumers are hungry for the product and will meet demand. Apple’s iPhone is more expensive than nearly all other competing smartphones. Estimates for the final selling price of an iPhone, plans and peripherals add up to around $657 this year, compared with $254 for Android smartphones. 

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The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are announced to have bigger screens, at 4.7 and 5.5 inches each, respectively. They will also contain 128 Gigabytes of internal memory. Traditionally, Apple has stuck with a small display for its iPhone, while competitors were making larger screens for high-end phones. Larger screens are desired in Asia, where the smartphone is replacing the personal computer as a person’s main computing device. The lack of a large screen was fast becoming a liability for Apple. Smartphone rival Samsung Electronics has pushed hard into large-screen smartphones and used the bigger screen as a positive difference away from the iPhone. Samsung is currently the market leader of large smartphone displays.

Apple Pay, a brand new contact-less payment program, has been announced. Instead of traditional debit and credit card transactions, Apple Pay will allow users to directly scan and purchase goods and services with their iPhones at a registered business. Details will be forthcoming on where Apple Pay can be used; the current list of Apple Pay vendors are McDonalds, Subway, Whole Foods and Sephora. More businesses are expected to announce their support in future updates.

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To celebrate the Apple Watch and the newest iPhone release, legendary rock band U2 has announced their new album will be free to download for all iTunes users. More than 500 million users have been given day-one access to the music, which is the largest record debut in the history of the music industry.

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Expect more details about Apple’s new products to emerge in the weeks ahead.