Apple Pay

What Does Apple Pay Mean?

Apple Pay is a mobile payment service from Apple, Inc., that is available on Apple 6 iPhones and smartwatch devices. Apple Pay provides an innovative contactless payment system that allows buyers to make purchases just by swiping their device in the vicinity of a cashier’s kiosk.

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Apple Pay is sometimes informally referred to as iPay.

Techopedia Explains Apple Pay

Some types of contactless systems have been around for a while; for example, in highway toll payments, the "Easy Pay" card is an example of a system that does not require the traditional credit or debit card swipe entry and security features. However, the reason that toll booth operators can offer this technology is by distributing prepaid cards.

Now, Apple is offering a built-in technology in its devices that allows users to circumvent the commonly traditional process of swiping a credit or debit card, signing a piece of paper or entering a pin code for transaction integrity.

Apple Pay is not yet operational with all banks, and it is still in its nascent stage. But it does point to a growing trend in buying technology, which could mean that the traditional credit and debit cards may get phased out over time.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…