Sounds hyperbolic? Yes, but that’s how Apple gets a sense for a market. Given that Apple has surely already sold at least 2m new iPhones in the US (and perhaps more like 5m), it’s highly likely that the value and volume of NFC transactions through Apple’s Stores in the US in the next two months will exceed that across the US in the previous ten months of this year. The advantage that Apple has is that ApplePay will have a really big merchant ready to use it straight away: all of Apple’s stores, which number more than 250 in the US. “We believe ApplePay is going to change things profoundly,” Tim Cook said. Having already signed up a number of banks and merchants for its announcement on 9 September, Tim Cook said on Thursday that another 500 banks have come forward to get involved in Apple Pay, as well as a number of merchants (including Starbucks, which has had its own payment system going for some time). It has struggled to sign up merchants or banks, and both carriers and merchants tried to launch their own competing NFC payment systems, Softcard and MCX, which have had little success either because they’re all at odds with each other. Google Wallet and NFC on Android phones has got nowhere, basically. In that time, Google Wallet, launched in May 2011, has had 20m downloads - though I’ve been told by several sources in the US financial services industry that only about one-tenth of those actually use their phones for NFC payments in stores in other words, 2 million people, at best, making occasional use of their phones to pay for goods in store. NFC (Near-field communication) has been available in Android phones since early 2011, since when the installed base of Android phones has gone from around 50m worldwide to more than a billion, and the US user base from about 18m to over 90m. Apple Pay: the quiet revolutionĪpple CEO Tim Cook discusses the new Apple Pay product during an event at Apple headquarters in Cuptertino, California. With iPad sales having fallen year-on-year for the past nine months as the tablet market bifurcates, it needs to look to vertical markets and business for fresh growth where price isn’t so important. That’s certainly going to be important for Apple. “ work Exchange policy mandates a long password - will be brilliant for me,” remarked Richard Harnwell on Twitter. The sense of relief from iPad users in business was (to me) surprisingly palpable on Twitter after the announcement in retrospect it’s understandable that pressing a finger looks far more desirable than typing a long, hard-to-remember code. 1Password, which acts as a master vault for passwords for apps and websites, also integrates with it. Long passphrases are the enemy of quick interaction with a customer, he explained: “Fumbling around with a strong passcode doesn’t cut it for a quick customer interaction, especially in travel.”Įvernote links to TouchID, as can any custom app for enterprise – the software hooks (APIs) are available to any app that requires authentication. “TouchID very important in enterprise for mobile workforces, particularly in customer-service scenarios,” responded Tim Edwards of Dootrix, an enterprise software development consultancy. When I mentioned on Twitter that TouchID looked useful on the new iPads, the responses came thick and fast from people who don’t want to have to type their long IT department-mandated passwords into a screen, but would rather unlock them with the touch of a finger. The TouchID addition is important for people who use iPads in businesses, especially the giant “enterprises” where thousands of devices might be deployed. Business users who have to type long passwords like the idea.
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