We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

If software designers have their way, soon all of your payment and identity cards will be centralized in one place: your phone. You will be able to make every transaction from a mobile device without pulling out a card. As long as you keep that device topped-up and don’t lose it, this could be the easiest way to shop.

Image: Apple

Smartphone Simplicity

Apple insists this is very simple. Download debit and credit cards. Touch the screen to select one of these at a participating store. Pay online with your Apple Watch or iPhone by holding a portable Apple device to a specially-designed reader. Download apps for various stores and make safe online purchases easily; almost too easily. Just to be on the safe side, keep a banking app on the screen too so you are sure about your balance before spending.

Shopping from Assorted Media

The two mobile options almost make it sound like this is a mobile service, but Apple is bigger than that. They make it possible to shop with Apple Pay from your laptop, desktop, or iPad. If your device is online, you can use Apple Pay; just don’t plan on holding your laptop to grocery store readers. That’s for internet shopping, and it is always secure to spend money this way.

Sense of Security

How does Apple achieve this? Customers are assigned a number specific to their device and also a code to use. You aren’t storing your card number and these figures are only exchanged at the POS. Otherwise, they remain private. If you lose your iPhone, it would be very difficult for a thief to access personal details unless you left them in a document on your phone. Apple Pay doesn’t record them. Activate a password code that’s not easy to guess for even better security.

Consumer Benefits

Don’t worry about losing points at various banks and other benefits you are interested in. Every time you pay, those are still attributed to your account. Soon, reward cards will be ready for Apple Pay at various grocery stores too and you won’t lose those points either. Keep saving for that exotic holiday or a food processor in a loyalty card catalogue.

Ready Your Store for Apple Pay

You must have figured out by now that using Apple Pay is convenient as a customer, but what about shop keepers? You will need to add a reader to your payment area and simply read-up on the service to get your bearings, but there is little to tell. Most of what transpires is between the customer and his software. Wherever retailers accept card payment of some kind, Apple Pay is a cinch to work with. Merchant services are available from Apple, so vendors can find out more about what’s involved including costs and support.

Be sure to tell people they can pay this way. That attracts customers. More importantly, you could see better numbers at the end of the month.

Where Can You Use Apple Pay?

Right now, consumers have a lot of choice in the mainstream as to where they can apply this service. There are numerous restaurants and shops which accept Apple Pay. These include Etsy, McDonald’s, Beyond the Rack, Tim Horton’s, Chapter’s, and Coles. Maybe some of your local grocery stores also accept this method of payment. Eventually, more companies will join the ranks of modern retailers such as Zulily and Ticketmaster.