The ultimate guide to how and where to use Apple Pay by Leah Yamshon

Roughly one month after we first saw a demo of Tim Cook scanning an iPhone at a cash register to Apple Pay arrived for the rest of us to check out. But before you go blowing your entire paycheck on everything from big handbags to Big Macs, there are a few things to keep in mind about the platform. Read on to learn more about how Apple Pay works, how to get your iPhone ready for it, and most importantly, where you can go test it out yourself.
buy stuff,

What's the latest?

Apple rolled out Apple Pay compatibility with 15 more credit unions and banks on Tuesday, bringing the total number up to more than 45. These just-added banks and credit unions are:

• A+ Federal Credit Union
• Amegy Bank of Texas
• America First Credit Union
• Bethpage Federal Credit Union
• California Bank & Trust
• Connex Credit Union
• Goldenwest FCU
• Huntington Bank
• KeyPoint Credit Union
• Meijer Credit Union
• National Bank of Arizona
• Nevada State Bank
• The Bank of Greene County
• Vectra Bank
• Zions First National Bank

While we don't have broad numbers about how successful Apple Pay has been with banks across the board, Bank of America reported that around 800,000 of its customers have linked 1.1 million cards with Apple Pay between its launch on October 20, 2014 and the end of the year.

Want to use Apple Pay? Get your iPhone ready

In order to use Apple Pay, you need to have a compatible device and the right version of iOS. For in-store purchases, Apple Pay is compatible with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which are the only iPhones equipped with the requisite NFC radio antennae. Besides NFC compatibility, the other piece of the hardware puzzle is a Touch ID sensor, but iPhone 5S owners are out of luck. For in-app purchases, Apple Pay works with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3—again, thanks to the Touch ID sensor.


You’ll also need to update your iPhone to iOS 8.1 or newer, which will turn on your phone’s Apple Pay feature.

Once your iPhone is in order, you’ll need to link up a credit or debit card to use for payments. As of January 20, Apple’s confirmed credit and debit partners are: 

• A+ Federal Credit Union
• Amegy Bank of Texas
• America First Credit Union
• American Express
• Associated Bank
• Bank of America
• Barclaycard
• BB&T (Branch Banking & Trust)
• Bethpage Federal Credit Union
• Black Hills Federal Credit Union
• California Bank & Trust
• Capital One
• Chase
• Citi
• Commerce Bank
• Connex Credit Union
• Consumers Credit Union
• Customers Bank
• Cyprus Federal Credit Union
• Dupaco Community Credit Union
• FAIRWINDS Credit Union
• First Tennessee Bank
• Fremont Bank
• Goldenwest FCU
• Huntington Bank
• Idaho Central Credit Union
• J.P. Morgan
• KeyPoint Credit Union
• L & N Federal Credit Union
• M&T Bank
• MasterCard
• Meijer Credit Union
• Merrill Lynch
• Mountain America Credit Union
• National Bank of Arizona
• National Institutes of Health FCU
• Navy Federal Credit Union
• Nevada State Bank
• Partners Federal Credit Union
• PNC
• Regions Bank
• Security Service Federal Credit Union
• SunTrust
• TCF National Bank
• TD Bank N.A.
• The Bank of Greene County
• U.S. Bank
• U.S. Trust
• USAA
• UW Credit Union
• Vectra Bank
• Virginia Credit Union
• Visa
• Wells Fargo
• WesBanco Bank
• Zions First National Bank

If you already have one of these partner cards linked to your Apple ID for making iTunes and App Store purchases, you can opt to keep using that card with Apple Pay.

You can also add different cards—just launch Passbook and tap the plus-sign in the top-right corner. You'll then be prompted to add either a credit or debit card to use with Apple Pay, or another pass to store in Passbook. Tap "Add Another Card," then follow the entry fields on the next screen. You can speed this up by taking a picture of your card with your iPhone.

Whether you're using the card already linked to your Apple ID or adding a new one, your iPhone will guide you through the setup process, which includes verifying your card, granting Apple Pay access, and then storing it in Passbook. Be sure to have your card handy so you can verify the card with its security code.

The card linked to your Apple ID will be listed as your default Apple Pay card, but you can always change that by going to Settings > Passbook & Apple Pay and updating your transaction defaults information.

How it works

When buying something at a brick-and-mortar store, you’ll hold your iPhone up to a wireless payment terminal near the cash register, and then use Touch ID to complete your purchase. These sensors are the same ones you’ve already seen in stores, often equipped with both card swipers and a tap-to-pay contactless terminal. The beauty of Apple Pay is that you don't even need to wake up your iPhone or launch Passbook—your phone wakes up automatically when it gets in range of the terminal and initiates the payment process.

McDonald's

Scan your phone, and press Touch ID. That's it. 

If you’re buying something through a partnered online store on your iPhone, iPad Air 2, or iPad mini 3, you’ll just use Touch ID to complete the purchase. Depending on the app, you may have to toggle on a setting to allow the app to access Apple Pay, or to set Apple Pay as your default method of payment.

Get shopping 

What makes Apple Pay such a game-changer is how many retail partners the platform has, with new stores being added constantly. Besides the Apple Store, you can use Apple Pay at these brick-and-mortar stores:

• Aeropostale
• American Eagle Outfitters
• Babies ‘R’ Us
• Bi-Lo
• BJ’s Wholesale Club
• Bloomingdale’s
• Champs Sports
• Chevron and Texaco, including retail stores like ExtraMile
• The Disney Store
• Duane Reade
• Foot Locker, including Kids Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, House of Hoops, and Run by Foot Locker
• Footaction
• Harveys Supermarket
• Jewel Osco
• Macy’s
• McDonald’s
• Meijer
• Nike
• Office Depot
• Panera Bread
• Petco and Unleashed by Petco
• RadioShack
• Sephora
• Shaws
• Six:02
• Sports Authority
• Staples
• Star Market
• Subway
• Toys ‘R’ Us
• United Supermarkets
• Walgreens
• Wegmans
• Whole Foods Market
• Winn-Dixie

A few more stores will rollout Apple Pay compatibility sometime in 2015:

• Acme
• Albertsons
• Anthropologie
• Free People
• Urban Outfitters
• Walt Disney World Resort

For in-app checkouts, Apple Pay works with a handful of apps:

• 20Stamps
• Airbnb
• Apple Store app
• Chairish
• Dapper
• Dealflicks Movies
• Disney Store
• Drync
• Eventbrite
• Fancy
• Flextrip
• Gametime
• GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine
• Groupon
• Hotel Tonight
• Houzz
• Indiegogo
• Instacart
• JackThreads
• Keep Shopping
• Levi's Stadium
• LIFX
• Lyft
• Merchbar
• MLB.com
• OpenTable
• Panera Bread
• Pose
• Postmates
• Priceline
• Print Studio
• Sephora
• Sosh
• SpotHero - Parking Deals
• Spring
• Staples
• Stayful
• Target
• ThirdLove
• Threadflip
• Ticketmaster
• TouchOfModern
• Uber

Starbucks' and StubHub's apps are expected to start supporting Apple Pay sometime in 2015, as well.

Posted in: iPhone