You'll be able to use your new iPhone as a wallet starting Monday, October 20, Apple revealed on Thursday. That's the launch date for Apple Pay, the mobile payment service that Apple previewed last month.
"It's easy, secure and private," Apple CEO Tim Cook said of Apple Pay, speaking at a product launch event in California. The company demoed Apple Pay at its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus event on September 9. The service uses a near-field communication (NFC) chip that's embedded in the new iPhones and will be included in the upcoming Apple Watch.
NFC is a short-range wireless technology that can securely send payments to a store’s special reader (launch partners include Whole Foods and Starbucks). Customers wave the device near the reader and then use the Touch ID fingerprint sensor to confirm the transaction. Card numbers aren't saved on the device or shared with stores.
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