6 Great Reasons to Start Using Apple Pay Right Now
Credit: Market Mad House
When Apple Pay first arrived, many Apple consumers were wary about the digital payment service (and many remain wary today). But even if you aren't used to the idea of paying with an app, Apple Pay is definitely worth considering, especially in its current state. The payment app offers plenty of advantages, top-notch security, and – well, we have a whole list! Here's why now is the best time to consider Apple Pay, and why you really shouldn't wait any longer to start using the service. Continue reading to learn 6 Great Reasons to Start Using Apple Pay Right Now.
6 You Will Forget Your Wallet One Day
Even if you don't really plan on using apps to pay for everyday purchases, it's great to have a payment app to fall back on in case of an emergency. There are always times when you didn't bring as much cash as you needed for an event, or times when you forgot your wallet at home. With Apple Pay, you store card information in the Apple Wallet, where it can be retrieved for use at any time – which means you can still use the app to pay no matter what you left at home. Some people like this option so much they feel comfortable just leaving their wallets at home when heading out for a quick purchase. We don't necessarily recommend this, but it is really nice to have a backup just in case you need it.
5 You'll Save Time During Checkout
Apple Pays uses NFC (Near Field Technology) tech that makes paying even faster than swiping a card, as you can simply establish a connection and wave your device over the terminal to complete a payment. It's super speedy, and the ideal option when you're particularly short on time after work or short on patience getting your first coffee in the morning. Check to see if your frequent stops support Apple Pay (more on this in a bit), If they do, you could save considerably more time on your frequent purchases – and no one likes wasting time checking out.
4 Sending Money to Friends Is Easy Than Ever Before
If you haven't been following Apple Pay news, a welcome update less than a year ago gave Apple Pay the ability to facilitate payments between friends and family. That means you can instantly send cash to your contacts with a simple text, right from your phone, iPad or Apple Watch. We've all been in those situations where you need to spot a friend with some quick cash, or pay someone back for a favor. Apple Pay Cash is one of the easiest ways to do this – we have found it to be even easier than PayPal or using Google Pay. As long as you pay with a debit card, there's no charge to make the transaction. For credit cards, there's around a 3% charge to consider.
3 More Services and Brands Are Being Added All of the Time
In the beginning, you may have avoided Apple Pay because it just didn't work at many of the stores, restaurants, and other businesses that you used. But Apple has been working for years to add additional services and work out new deals to make Apple Pay compatible with a much broader range of brands. By the end of 2018 (which, we remind you, is in just a few months), Apple Pay should be an option in 60% of American retailers. That includes common stops like Jamba Juice, Safeway, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, 7-11, Trader Joes, Walgreens, and so many more. The number of online services, campuses, public transportation services, and nonprofits that accept Apple Pay is also impressive, and new services are being added all the time. If this concern kept you from getting Apple Pay before, don't let it worry you now!
2 You Can Add All of Your Loyalty Cards
Using Apple Wallet is more or less required when using Apple Pay... but this leads to a lot of additional benefits that you may not realize were possible! You see, Apple Wallet has the ability to link up with compatible customer loyalty programs for many common brands. This ensures that you always get customer loyalty rewards when using Apple Pay (and can even help businesses with organizing B2B awards programs). In addition to rewards programs Apple Wallet is also being used as a shortcut for things like hotel room keys and security access to buildings. The number of uses continues to grow, and only provides more potential as time goes on.
1 Its More Secure Than Plastic Cards
This is the big one, right? People still have a hard time storing their financial information in digital wallets, which just don't feel safe. The truth, however, is that digital payments through Apple Pay are incredibly safe, especially compared to other common options. When payment details are stored in Apple Wallet, they are housed in a safe enclave with no online connection, and only retrieved when necessary. Your payment information is not broadcast over Wi-Fi signals, and cannot be picked up just by standing near you.
In fact, all this security makes Apple Pay safer to use than your actual card. Cards can be stolen, and their information can easily be copied with hidden swiping devices, making them a common source of identify theft around the world. On the same note, typing your information into the computer can be read with malware tracking programs and other types of hacking which can follow everything you're doing on a site. This type of digital theft is only becoming more common in the world, which is an excellent reason to start using Apple Pay online and in your daily life.