Apple Pay is here; it is Apple’s way of trading in plastic credit cards with those magnetic strips of information for a digital solution stored on your iPhone… and soon, your Apple Watch.
Major League Baseball has apparently agreed with Apple, in an effort to get this technology in all baseball stadiums, to use it during the current 2014 World Series where the Kansas City Royals are facing the San Francisco Giants (Go Royals!). The goal: to make it easier for everybody to buy everything!
So far, of the individual vendors at the two stadiums offering the new technology, Apple Pay seems to be working just fine. It will soon be even easier to depart with your money… through mid-air, like magic. Purchases under $25.00 don’t even require a signature! Swoosh!
Apple’s goal, of course, is to have these machines everywhere. An Apple world for an Apple planet, paid for in Apple’s… well, not exactly. And Apple is hopeful that it will shorten long lines, making everyone happier (and more eager to spend?) while shopping.
It will be quite some time before Apple Pay is actually everywhere. So far, it is in 220,000 stores in the U.S. – big chains including McDonalds, Subway, Walgreen’s, and Apple’s own retail stores. Other retailers are also developing there own mobile payment services, including Best Buy and 7-Eleven, hoping to get into this arena early. As usual, it appears that Apple will come in first with Apple Pay, while others struggle to catch up or even survive.