Last night Apple took to the stage and announced a whole host of new devices to the world including the new Apple iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 3, iMac with 5K retina display and updates to the iOS 8 and Mc operating systems, but one thing that Apple also confirmed was when the new Apple based payments system will launch.
Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple Pay will launch in the United States this coming Monday (October 20th) which will bring the NFC-powered payments system to Apple users with the iPhone 6 and the larger iPhone 6 Plus.
See also: iPad Air 2 With iOS 8.1 Announced
Whilst NFC has been on the growth for many years, Apple have been rumoured to get involved in the new wireless payments system for a while. But now, as ofMonday folks in the US will be able to use their iPhone 6 handsets to purchase in the high-street.
The system will also be compatible with the company’s Apple Watch, which is expected to debut next year, but until then it’s restricted to Apple’s two premier devices.
When Apple announced the new Apple Pay system alongside the iPhone 6/6 Plus, they revealed that they were working in over 220,000 locations in the US, with Walgreens and Macy’s among the stores which will support it.
But for us folks in the UK, it would seem a long wait is on our hands, as Visa executive Pedro Sousa recently said that he does not expect to see Apple Pay launch in the UK or mainland Europe until 2015.
Mobile phone payments and NFC has long been the holy grail for the technology industry, as it could prove to make spending even faster, but the world is seemingly dragging its heels a little bit over the changes.
However, with apple on board, its sure to make many people more aware of what their new iPhone 6 will be able to do.