Apple Pay: what is it and how to use it
Apple Pay is a payment system that allows you to pay for goods in stores by attaching an Apple mobile device to the terminal. The system works according to the NFC protocol and only on terminals that accept contactless payments (they must have a PayPass or PayWave label). The system is compatible only with models older than the iPhone 6, including the iPhone SE, as well as with the Apple Watch. In the latter case, the system will be able to configure through the iPhone 5, 5s and 5c.
To pay, you need to bring the gadget to the terminal, select the card in the application and attach your finger to the Touch ID sensor. On Apple Watch, a payment is launched by double-clicking on the power button and does not require special authorization. Neither Apple Pay nor other payment services charge a fee.
Payments via iPhone are accepted at the ABC of Taste, Atak, Auchan, Magnit, M.Video, Media Markt, re: Store stores, at TsUM, at BP gas stations, at Aeroexpress ticket offices. In the near future, the system will appear in stores “Eldorado” and eateries Burger King. It’s possible to pay for purchases from your smartphone in other stores where there are terminals with PayPass or PayWave support. Earlier, Vedomosti reported that Apple Pay was also tested in Dixie and Victoria stores.
How to attach a card to Apple Pay
For iPhone, the cards are tied in the Wallet application. The system by default connects cards that were previously linked to an account in iTunes, but you can add up to seven more debit or credit cards. Data is entered both manually and automatically using the camera. For payments over the clock, you need to enter the card data in the My Clock application in the Wallet and Apple Pay item. Watches also allow you to pay with different cards.
What cards can be tied
At the time of launch, Apple Pay only works with MasterCard debit and credit cards issued by Sberbank. Earlier it was reported that partners in Russia will be Sberbank, Raiffeisenbank, Yandex.Money, Tinkoff, Binbank, Otkrytie and VTB 24. Wallet will later be allowed to add bonus and credit card stores. In the USA, the service works with both MasterCard and Visa.
How Apple Pay works on the Internet
Since March this year, Apple Pay pays for purchases on the Internet, but only in the Safari browser on macbooks with macOS Sierra, iPhones and iPads (iPad Air 2, mini 3, mini 4 and Pro). The Apple Pay button will not appear on all sites, but only on those that have implemented the API. Payment is also approved either via iPhone or through Apple Watch (they receive a request that is confirmed by a fingerprint). Therefore, the user should be limited to one account in iCloud. Apple Pay is available in some applications (also only in those that have implemented the API), for example, in Uber.
Can hack Apple Pay
So far, cases of hacking Apple Pay have not been reported. When paying, the smartphone does not transmit card data to the POS terminal. Instead, it exchanges a token, a one-time key that is generated for each payment. Even if the fraudster intercepts the token, he will not be able to use it a second time. During payment by credit card, on the contrary, data is exchanged, for example, with a PIN code, and hackers actively use it. In 2013, a group of crackers installed malicious software in Target stores and received 70 million cards in a few days. Tokens are not a feature of Apple Pay – they are part of the NFC protocol and work with other payment systems.
Apple Pay does not even store the card number, but assigns it an account number, which is located on a secure chip, does not load either on servers or in iCloud. This provides additional security for purchases on the Internet: these cards are not entered in the browser and cannot be stolen by tracking programs.
All payments on Apple Pay are approved either by fingerprint scanning or by touching the skin of the sensors on the watch. Touch ID can be hacked, for example, using a copy of a fingerprint on sculpted clay, but this takes time, access to an iPhone and a fingerprint. But there is still no open information about the map in the application. The vulnerability in the latter was also not reported. In case the iPhone is lost, data from Apple Pay is deleted in Find My iPhone.
After the launch of Apple Pay, security experts reported possible cases of fraud with the system. Hackers allegedly bought stolen data about people and their cards, created cheap copies of cards, authorized them in Apple Pay and made purchases. At the beginning of 2015, employees of some American banks said that the level of card fraud increased from 1% to 6%. This story was not continued.
What are the alternatives to Apple Pay?
Android Pay
1 from 4
“Wallet”
2 out of 4
Qiwi Wallet
3 out of 4
Wallet
4 out of 4
Affiliate content
