The ultimate guide on how and where to use Apple Pay by Leah Yamshon

Roughly one month after we first saw a demo of Tim Cook scanning an iPhone at a cash register to buy stuff, Apple Pay arrived for the rest of us to check out. But before you go blowing your entire paycheck on everything from big handbags to Big Macs, there are a few things to keep in mind about the platform. Read on to learn more about how Apple Pay works, how to get your iPhone ready for it, and most importantly, where you can go test it out yourself.

What's the latest?

Bi-Lo Holdings, a parent company of three major U.S. grocery store chains—Bi-Lo, Harveys, and Winn-Dixie—announced on November 18 that its stores will now be compatible with Apple Pay. This is perfect timing, considering Thanksgiving is just around the corner—now the only thing you'll have to fumble for while juggling a turkey in one hand a giant can of cranberry sauce in the other is your iPhone.

These grocery stores are widely spread throughout the Southeast, in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Bi-Lo is the first major grocery chain to join Whole Foods as an Apple Pay partner, which comes as a major relief to everyone's (digital) wallets.

Additionally, Apple confirmed that Mashable's report on an Apple Pay rollout at other regional grocery chains is correct. Associated Foods Stores nationwide, Jewel-Osco stores in the Chicagoland area, Shaws and Star Markets stores in New England, and United Food Stores in Texas are now Apple Pay ready. (Albertson's is the parent company of Jewel-Osco, Shaws and Star Markets, and United Food Stores, yet it owns a chain of stores by the name of Albertson's as well—which are not equipped with Apple Pay yet after all.)

Want to use Apple Pay? Get your iPhone ready

In order to use Apple Pay, you need to have a compatible device and the right version of iOS. Apple Pay is compatible with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which are the only iPhones equipped with the requisite NFC radio antennae. Besides NFC compatibility, the other piece of the hardware puzzle is a Touch ID sensor, but iPhone 5S owners are out of luck.


You’ll also need to update your iPhone to iOS 8.1 or newer, which will turn on your phone’s Apple Pay feature.

Once your iPhone is in order, you’ll need to link up a credit or debit card to use for payments. As of November 18, Apple’s confirmed credit and debit partners are:

• American Express
• Bank of America
• Barclaycard
• CapitalOne
• Chase
• Citi
• J.P. Morgan
• M&T Bank
• MasterCard
• Merrill Lynch
• Navy Federal Credit Union
• PNC
• Regions
• U.S. Bank
• U.S. Trust
• USAA
• Visa
• Wells Fargo

If you already have one of these partner cards linked to your Apple ID for making iTunes and App Store purchases, you can opt to keep using that card with Apple Pay. You can also add a different card by taking a picture of it with your iPhone. With either option, you’ll select and verify your card, and then store it in Passbook. Be sure to have your card handy so you can verify the card with its security code.

How it works

When buying something at a brick-and-mortar store, you’ll hold your iPhone up to a wireless payment terminal near the cash register, and then use Touch ID to complete your purchase. These sensors are the same ones you’ve already seen in stores, often equipped with both card swipers and a tap-to-pay contactless terminal. The beauty of Apple Pay is that you don't even need to wake up your iPhone or launch Passbook—your phone wakes up automatically when it gets in range of the terminal and initiates the payment process.

McDonald's

Scan your phone, and press Touch ID. That's it.

If you’re buying something through a partnered online store on your iPhone, iPad Air 2, or iPad mini 3, you’ll just use Touch ID to complete the purchase. Depending on the app, you may have to toggle on a setting to allow the app to access Apple Pay, or to set Apple Pay as your default method of payment.

Get shopping 

What makes Apple Pay such a game-changer is how many retail partners the platform has, with new stores being added constantly. Besides the Apple Store, you can use Apple Pay at these brick-and-mortar stores:

• Aeropostale
• American Eagle Outfitters
• Babies ‘R’ Us
• Bi-Lo
• BJ’s Wholesale Club
• Bloomingdale’s
• Champs Sports
• Chevron and Texaco, including retail stores like ExtraMile
• The Disney Store
• Duane Reade
• Foot Locker, including Kids Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, House of Hoops, and Run by Foot Locker
• Footaction
• Harveys
• Macy’s
• McDonald’s
• Meijer
• Nike
• Office Depot
• Panera Bread
• Petco and Unleashed by Petco
• RadioShack
• Six:02
• Sports Authority
• Staples
• Subway
• Toys ‘R’ Us
• Walgreens
• Wegmans
• Winn-Dixie
• Whole Foods Market

Later this year, a few more stores will rollout Apple Pay compatibility:

• Anthropologie
• Free People
• Sephora
• Urban Outfitters
• Walt Disney World Resort

For in-app checkouts, Apple Pay will work with a handful of apps at launch:

• Apple Store app
• Chairish
• Drync
• Fancy
• Gametime
• Groupon
• HotelTonight
• Houzz
• Indiegogo
• Instacart
• JackThreads
• Keep Shopping
• LIFX
• Lyft
• OpenTable
• Panera Bread
• Pose
• Print Studio
• Sosh
• SpotHero - Parking Deals
• Spring
• Staples
• Target
• Threadflip
• TouchOfModern
• Uber

By the end of the year, more apps will support Apple Pay, including:

• AirBnB
• Disney Store
• Eventbrite
• Levi’s Stadium by VenueNext
• Sephora
• Starbucks
• StubHub
• Ticketmaster

Posted in: iPhone