Apple Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service by Apple Inc. that lets users make payments using the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and later, Apple Watch-compatible devices (iPhone 5 and later models), iPad Air 2, iPad Pro and iPad Mini 3 and later. Apple Pay does not require Apple-specific contactless payment terminals, but can work with existing terminals.
Apple Pay lets mobile devices make payments at contactless points of sale and in iOS apps. It digitizes and replaces the credit or debit card chip and PIN or magnetic stripe transaction at point-of-sale (POS) terminals. It is similar to contactless payments already used in many countries, with the addition of two-factor authentication. The service lets Apple devices wirelessly communicate with point of sale systems using a near field communication (NFC) antenna, a “dedicated chip that stores encrypted payment information”, and Apple’s Touch ID and Wallet.
Apple announced that more than 1 million credit cards had been registered on Apple Pay in the first 3 days of its availability, making it the largest mobile payment system at the time. There were 220,000 participating vendors when it launched. Outside the United States and the United Kingdom, Apple Pay can be used with American and British payment cards at compatible NFC-based payment terminals.