Today's rollout day for Apple Pay, the new touch-payment system that came built in on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and will also be included in the upcoming Apple Watch. And as Gizmodo finds, it mostly works, in some places.
Basically, it allows you to use your phone like you would a key-fob at a gas station to pay for things using a stored credit card. Does this scare you? Perhaps it should, but Apple insists that it should not.
The set-up is really easy.
To set up Apple Pay, open Passbook and you'll see a screen prompting you to set up Apple Pay. You can either use the credit card already attached to your iTunes account or choose a new card to add.If you do decide to go with a new card, after entering your name, just take a picture of your card, and your phone will suck up all the data and spit it back onto the form for you. And that's it. Easy.
You just need to look for places that have this icon on their card-swipe consoles:
But, apparently, as is the way of all things, not every store you encounter is going to be completely up-to-date. So you're likely going to find a Subway or three that has no idea what Apple Pay is or what you're trying to do with your phone.
The following retail outlets, however, are technically supposed to be part of the initial rollout, meaning, technically, you should be able to pay by flashing your phone at the machine there today, while simultaneously putting your thumb on the touch-pad ID button. But, no promises.
- Aeropostale
- Apple (obvi)
- BJ's Wholesale Club
- Babies"R"Us
- Bloomingdales
- Champs
- Chevron
- Disney Store
- ExtraMile
- Foot Locker
- Footaction
- House of Hoops
- Kids Foot Locker
- Lady Foot Locker
- Macy's
- McDonalds
- Nike
- Office Depot
- Panera Bread
- Petco
- PetSmart
- RadioShack
- Sports Authority
- Subway
- SIX:02
- Texaco
- Toys "R" Us
- Unleashed
- Urban Outfitters
- Walgreens / Duane Reade
- Wegmans
- Whole Foods
Also: Lyft now takes Apple Pay, which seems kind of redundant since you're already paying via credit card via your phone. But anyway, Apple Pay is now a payment option within the Lyft app, if you update it today to the latest version.