RSA filed a lawsuit against Apple and Visa over the weekend claiming the iPhone maker’s Apple Pay feature infringes on patents it owns. The company says it holds 13 patents covering Apple Pay technology, and hasn’t been able to get Apple or Visa to pay for licensing.
NFC on iPhone Can Be Unlocked, but Should You Care?
While NFC might always be limited to Apple Pay officially, more advanced users have been hoping the technology will be unlocked for other purposes. A popular jailbreak developer has done that, and Jeff Butts thinks it’s great for some and unimportant for most people.
Exxon’s Speedpass For Apple Watch Supports Apple Pay
Exxon updated its Speedpass for Apple Watch app today, finally letting customers pay for gas using their Apple Watch. Although the app uses in-app Apple Pay for transactions, you can use it at Exxon Mobil gas stations even if they don’t have a contactless payment system. Andrew Orr tells us how to use it.
Apple Pay Cash Transfers Now Work With Western Union App
Western Union has had support for Apple Pay since 2015. But it could only be used in stores for sending money and paying bills. Now, the Western Union app has support for Apple Pay cash transfers. You can finally use Apple Pay with Western Union to send cash from your bank to another person. Andrew Orr gives us the details.
Apple Pay Comes to Ireland, Launching in Italy Soon
Apple Pay officially launched in Ireland on Tuesday, and the contactless payment system is heading to Italy soon, too. Currently, Apple Pay is available for Ireland’s boon, Ulster Bank and KBC customers.
The Thinking Behind a Female Voice for Siri
Siri started out with a female voice exclusively, but now it can be changed to male. Alexa uses only a female voice. Cortana’s voice, for now, is strictly female. Why is that? Is it sexism? Is it for better intelligibility? John looks into the matter.
The State of Apple Pay - TMO Daily Observations 2017-02-13
Some big retailers don’t seem interested in Apple Pay, and Apple is having a fight over adoption in Australia. Adam Christianson from the Maccast and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at the state of Apple Pay and talk about what they see in the future for contactless payment systems.
Apple in a Standoff with Australia's Banks Over Apple Pay
Don’t count on Apple Pay coming to most of Australia any time soon because the ongoing fight between Apple and the banks is only getting worse. Apple is calling Australia’s banks a cartel looking to squeeze more money out of customers, and the banks say Apple is trying to kill competition. Both sides are digging in their heels, and it doesn’t look like they’re interested in finding a compromise.
Apple Pay Expands with Causemo And GoDaddy
On Wednesday, Apple added domain registrar GoDaddy and startup Causemo to Apple Pay. Apple has steadily expanded the list of retailers and other companies who accept Apple Pay online, increasing the service’s footprint.
¡Buenas noticias! Apple Pay Now Available in Spain
Apple today rolled out Apple Pay in Spain, partnering with select credit card issuers and retailers to bring its secure mobile payment service to customers. Spain is the 13th country to support the service as Apple continues its steady Apple Pay expansion.
Apple Pay Used to Buy $1M Aston Martin DB5 Luxury Car
Turns out you can buy more than groceries and iPhone accessories with Apple Pay—like a crazy expensive car, for example. British car auctioneer Coys of Kensington just sold a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 for £825,000, which is a little over US$1 million. That’s the single largest Apple Pay transaction to date.
Apple Has Plans for Better AI, Cashless Society
Apple CEO Tim Cook wants to weave artificial intelligence deeply into our lives, and he’s ready for a cashless society. The iPhone and Mac maker’s planned research center in Japan will play a role in those plans, and the country could be at the forefront of plans to push Apple Pay as the standard for a no-cash world.
Apple Pay Rival Systems Will be Costly Failures
It seems that too many corporations and banks want to create rival alternatives to Apple Pay. They have their own agenda for inserting themselves into the payment process, but always seem to forget that putting themselves ahead of the customer with half-baked, potentially problematic systems is never the right thing to do. Most will have to learn the hard way.
Samsung Pay Transaction Tokens Can Be Intercepted, But It's All Cool, Bro
An interesting story is developing around Samsung Pay: the first part is that transaction tokens can be intercepted; and the second part is that Samsung calls this an “acceptable risk” because it’s hard to do.
Eventually, AI Agents Will Put Even Authors Out of Work
Computers play better chess than humans. They can be instructed on how to do detailed manufacturing, beyond the abilities of humans. They shrewdly buy and sell stock. They can read medical literature and aid in the treatment of disease. It won’t be long before even the last bastion of the human mind, creative writing, will be replaced by AI agents. John looks at the trend line.
A Stinging Indictment of Apple Pay Paints a Dreary Future
Apple Pay is technically very cool. It has many devoted fans and is growing overall. However, despite its popularity in geek circles, it is not being embraced by the majority of those who are capable of using it. The problem has many aspects that, altogether, create a continuing challenge for Apple. A recent analysis of Apple Pay delves deeply into its slower than desired adoption.