Square will waive fees and offer a free marketing kit in order to help boost Apple Pay use.

Square has announced a new initiative that would let small businesses process $12,000 worth of payments made with Apple Pay for free, saving these businesses up to $350 in Square costs. Businesses will, of course, need Square's NFC-equipped card reader, as well as Square's free Apple Pay marketing kit, which encourages customers to use the payment system.

From Square:

Sellers can request a free Apple Pay marketing kit with collateral encouraging customers to pay with their iPhone or Apple Watch and staff training materials to educate employees about accepting Apple Pay. The processing credit is available once sellers have set up their countertop display for verification.

The company previously experimented with a similar program in Portland, Oregon in 2016. Over the course of the trial, participating Portland Square retailers saw the number of contactless payments triple.

While Square's most recent card reader accepts credit and debit cards equipped with EMV chips in addition to contactless payment methods like Apple Pay, these cards offer a slow, cumbersome experience next to Apple Pay.

Apple Pay will come to Taiwan soon, though a launch date hasn't been announced.

Apple will soon be rolling out Apple Pay in Taiwan. While the company has yet to set a launch date, it has announced partnerships with seven of the island's banks for the contactless payment system.

On its Taiwanese site, Apple lists partnerships with Cathay United Bank, CTBC Bank, E.Sun Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank and Union Bank of Taiwan. The company will undoubtedly add more banks to the lineup over time. In other countries, Apple has also made deals with credit card companies like American Express while agreements with banks were still being hammered out.

Taiwan will be the fourteenth territory to see the arrival of Apple Pay, and the sixth in the Asia-Pacific region, since its launch in late 2014.

Fitness is fantastic but there's one thing Apple Watch does that really feels like magic.

"How do you want to pay for that?""VISA."Tap. Beep."Wow, that's amazing. Is that your watch?"Smile."Boarding pass?""On my watch!"Scan."Wow, that's incredible! Apple Watch?"Nod."Here's your coffee!"Scan.""Wow! I've gotta get one of those!. "Want me to pay for gas?""Nah, I got it."Tap."What is that, magic?"

Long before Watch was even announced, I began to wonder about what I'd want from Apple on my wrist. Convenience was my killer feature. If Watch could save me from having to reach for my phone in order to do a few important, frequent, yet simple things, it'd be the equivalent of my phone letting me leave the house without my computer.

But convenience is a hard feature to demo in the wild.

When iPhone first came out, it was cool but it wasn't some abstract coolness that made people's eyes light up. It was the specific coolness of pinch-to-zoom in Photos or Maps, or Cover Flow in iPod. Those were immediately, undeniably cool.

When Apple Watch first came out, I had trouble finding a similar demo. It didn't help that Watch wasn't a minimally delightful product in the same way as iPhone. Apple introduced it with a bevy of features which made isolating one as the go-to demo harder: Mickey may have made people smile but it didn't make them want to immediately rush out and buy.

With Watch Series 2 and watchOS 3, Apple found their focus in fitness. The product still does a lot more, of course, but the messaging and advertising has been all about those rings and workouts.

For all the greater clarity and coherence, though, the Activity Rings and Workouts still don't make a great demo. Don't get me wrong — I love closing all my Activity Rings every day and the motivation that the new sharing features provide, but if you just show those rings to people they don't get it at a glance, not like they did with pinch-to-zoom.

Then, over the last few weeks, something started happening. I went to to Apple Pay for lunch at a local restaurant and instead of the man saying "Wow!", the man behind the counter held up his own Apple Watch. Instead of the woman at Air Canada gate being shocked when I scanned my boarding pass, she held up her Watch to show me she'd just gotten one too. Instead of the guy at the Starbucks drive through thinking my Apple Watch was cool, as he reached out to scan my digital card, I saw he was wearing one of his own.

A photo posted by Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) on Nov 30, 2015 at 10:43am PST

By some estimates, Apple sold 5.6 million Watches over the holidays— a quarter where Watch was and remains bafflingly constrained. That could bring the total number of Watches sold so far to a 25 million. I'm sure the new fitness focus and campaigns had something to do with that and I'm sure when people use those feature they love them.

But Apple Pay and Wallet? That's the "Wow!" moment. That's the demo I'd been looking for and the one that's been right in front of me this whole time. It's what my friends, who recently go Apple Watch, are messaging me all excited about. It's what the guy at the coffee shop counter loved when I stepped up, tapped, paid, and was on my way while the person beside me was still counting out cash. It's the magic.

Fitness is cool. Fitness is fantastic. Fitness absolutely makes our lives better. I love the first and latest ads Apple's done for Watch around fitness. But I can't help but wish for a really great Apple Watch ad centered around Apple Pay and Wallet next.

Paying at retail or at a drive-through or while jogging past a corner store. Getting your movie tickets, boarding your plane, or picking up your loyalty points. I'd even fold in opening the door to your hotel room and unlocking your Mac. An ad like that, done with the usual Apple panache, would make the convenience of Watch manifest.

Apple has succeeded in making paying for things not just cool but fun as well. Paying for things. Fun. That's something to show off.

My guess is we haven't seen a lot of this yet because the U.S. has only just begun to adopt tap-to-pay technology. That'll change, though. And as it does, I think we'll see a lot more of those "wow" moments, and Apple will sell a lot more Watches.

Apple Pay is big in Australia, even if some banks aren't willing to adopt it.

Apple Pay's chief, Jennifer Bailey, is sending a stern warning to five Australian banks unwilling to negotiate with the company over the nascent payment service, saying that customers will begin looking for greener, more mobile payment-friendly pastures.

In an interview with Australia's Financial Review newspaper, Bailey said that the banks don't understand the value proposition of Apple Pay, and that by ostensibly paying lip service to their customers by demanding access to the iPhone's NFC chip, they are missing an important opportunity.

The banks are fighting Apple because they are concerned about the tech giant's ability to capture the market for digital wallets – cards stored on smartphones – which is expected to grow strongly.

Bailey told AFR that after applying to Australia's regulator to enter into a collective boycott of Apple Pay, the companies have been unwilling to negotiate with Apple directly, and therefore haven't been able to learn about customer benefits of the program. The banks are demanding that Apple open up the NFC capabilities of its iPhones so that they can provide payment services of their own in apps available through the App Store. Bailey says that's not possible and never will be.

Apple says it will never be able to grant the applicant banks' request for their own, proprietary digital wallets to access the "near field communications" chip in the iPhone (which communicates with payments terminals), because this would result in users having to manually, through the phone settings, change the app communicating with the NFC, a clunky process which would reduce take-up.

The one big Australian bank that has adopted Apple Pay, ANZ, says that over a quarter of its customers are now using Apple Pay, and that 10 times more customers use payments with their Apple devices than on Android Pay.

Other banks, like ING Direct and Macquarie Bank, will enable Apple Pay this month for their customers, and Bailey says that as more institutions sign up for the service, Australians will make even louder demands of their obstinate banks — or leave altogether.

Owners of certain Jaguar models will soon be able to pay for gas from their cars.

Jaguar and Shell have announced a new in-car payment system for use at gas stations. The new shell app, which will be part of an update to Jaguar's F-PACE, XF, and XE car models, allows drivers to use Apple Pay or PayPal to pay for gas at the pump without needing to pull out their credit or debit card.

The system is rolling out first in the UK, according to Jaguar:

Rather than using a card at the pump, or queuing in the forecourt shop, owners who install the Shell app can simply drive up to any pump at a Shell service station (initially in the UK and then globally) and use the vehicle's touchscreen to select how much fuel they require and pay using PayPal or Apple Pay.

After you pay, your electronic receipt will appear on screen, and will also be emailed to your right away. In addition to PayPal and Apple Pay, the system will also support Android Pay later in 2017.

E la Carte's latest terminal lets you use Apple Pay to pay for your meal right at your table.

E la Carte, the company behind a number of restaurant-focused tools, has announced a new Apple Pay-compatible payment terminal meant to be installed at tables, the PrestoPrime EMV Terminal. The terminal would allow customers to use contactless payment systems like Apple Pay, as well as magnetic stripe and EMV chip credit and debit cards, right at their table.

From E la Carte:

"Brick-and-mortar payments and security requirements have changed dramatically in the last 5 years. We wanted to take a leadership role in helping our partners navigate these volatile waters, while also generating direct operating benefits that offer a real hard dollar ROI to recoup their investment," said Raj Suri, CEO and founder of E la Carte. "Combining robust security with a frictionless user experience, PrestoPrime EMV sets the bar as the best tabletop platform available to restaurant operators."

E la Carte has not yet announced availability for the PrestoPrime EMV Terminal, though it will demonstrate the product at a restaurant industry conference in April.

Payment processor WePay has announced its support for Apple Pay on the web.

Online payment platform WePay, which offers integrated payments for the likes of GoFundMe, Zoho, Freshbooks, and other services, has announced support for Apple Pay. This allows you to use Apple Pay when checking out of online stores powered by WePay, both on the desktop and mobile web.

From WePay:

WePay's launch of the Apple Pay and Android Pay products means platform customers can now pay for goods and services with just a single touch — gone are the days of having to manually enter payment and shipping information at checkout.

Apple Pay on the web arrived last fall with iOS 10 and macOS Sierra, allowing customers to use Apple Pay in online stores just as they would at brick-and-mortar retail locations. Other online payment backends, including Stripe and Shopify, have added support for Apple Pay on the web since launch.

Exxon Mobil and the Speedpass+ app make it possible for you to pay for your gas using Apple Pay. You can even use your Apple Watch to fill 'er up!

Exxon Mobil has a convenient payment app, Speedpass+ that lets you use Apple Pay to purchase gas. You don't even have to get out of the car to complete the transaction (though you do have to brave the harsh weather to pump the gas). The app was just updated with support for Apple Watch. So, now, you can complete the entire transaction right from your wrist.

Speedpass+ is a mobile payment options for Exxon Mobil. Users can set up an account and link their credit cards. If you have Apple Pay set up on your iPhone, it will connect to it automatically. You don't even need to add a different payment option.

If you have Apple Pay set up on your compatible devices, simply download the Speedpass+ app and create an account. Your Apple Pay information is automatically added to your account.

What you do need, is the Speedpass+ app installed on your iPhone (and on your Apple Watch if you want to take advantage of that feature), an active account, and an Exxon Mobil gas station.

Speedpass+ will tell you where the nearest Exxon Mobil location is. When you arrive, you'll enter the pump number, select your fuel grade, and hit the pay button to authorize the transaction. You don't have to go into the convenience store and try to avoid buying munchies, or even walk up to the pump and pull your bank card out of your wallet. Better yet, you don't have to enter your PIN into one of those shifty looking number pads and risk having your credit card data stolen. With Apple Pay, the payment is secure and so are you.

See in App Store

What do you think of Exxon Mobil's mobile payment app? Do you use it to buy gas? Tell us your experience.

Apple Pay is an easy and secure way to pay when buying merchandise online with your Mac. Here's how to set it up!

The iPhone and Apple Watch have supported Apple Pay for a few years, but now it's the Mac's turn to jump on the secure online payment bandwagon. Whether you have a new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar or are still rocking an older Mac, here's how you can set up Apple Pay and manage your Wallet.

• How to set up Apple Pay on your Mac
• How to use Apple Pay on your Mac
• How to manage Apple Pay on your Mac
• How to change your default card
• How to remove a card
• How to manage your contact and shipping information
• How to manage your billing address
• How to view recent Apple Pay transactions
• How to return a purchase with Apple Pay
• How to troubleshoot Apple Pay

How to set up Apple Pay on your Mac

Before you use Apple Pay on your Mac, you'll need to set it up.

1. Open the Safari app.
2. Go to Safari > Preferences.

3. Click on the Privacy tab.

4. Select the checkbox next to Apple Pay to allow websites to prompt you with the payment option.

Set up Apple Pay on a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

If you own a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and Touch ID, you'll be able to authorize payments directly from your keyboard. But before you do so, you'll need to add your credit card to Apple Pay. You should have been prompted to do so when first setting up your Mac, but you can still set up Apple Pay at any time through the System Preferences app.

1. Open System Preferences.

2. Click on the Wallet & Apple Pay icon.

3. Press the + (plus) button to add a new credit or debit card.
4. Either position your card in front of your iSight camera to automatically read its number, or manually enter your card information.
5. Accept your card's terms and conditions.
6. When your bank authorizes your card, you'll receive a notification letting you know it's ready for Apple Pay.

If you need to change or delete Apple Pay cards, you can do so at any time in the System Preferences app.

Set up Apple Pay on an older Mac

If you're using an older Mac, you'll need to use your iPhone or Apple Watch's stored cards to pay for goods and services.

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Tap Wallet & Apple Pay.

3. Slide the On/Off switch next to Allow Payments on Mac to the On position.

How to use Apple Pay on your Mac

If you do a lot of online shopping on your Mac, Apple Pay lets you authorize payments made on your Mac via the Touch ID sensor on your MacBook Pro or iPhone, or via Apple Watch — as such, you can say sayonara to typing your credit card information into every site that needs it. Here's how to pay for an item using Apple Pay on your Mac!

• How to use Apple Pay on your Mac

How to manage Apple Pay cards on your Mac

Once you've added a card on a Mac that supports the Touch Bar, you can look at it in more detail from the Wallet & Apple Pay section of System Preferences.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click on the Wallet & Apple Pay icon.

3. To view a card's information — including your device account number, billing address, bank contact info, and transactions — select it from the sidebar.

If you're using Apple Pay with an older Mac via your iPhone or Apple Watch, you'll have to manage your cards on your iPhone.

How to change your default card

If you've added more than one card, you'll be able to change it inside the preferences screen.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click on the Wallet & Apple Pay icon.

3. At the bottom of the screen, select the card you wish to make your default option from the dropdown menu.

How to remove a card

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click on the Wallet & Apple Pay icon.

3. Select the card you wish to delete from the sidebar.

4. Press the - (delete) button at the bottom of the sidebar.
5. Confirm that you wish to delete the card.

How to manage your contact and shipping information

You can view and change your current contact information (shipping address, email, and phone number) in the settings screen.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click on the Wallet & Apple Pay icon.

3. Select the Contact and Shipping option at the bottom of the sidebar.

To change your shipping address, email, or phone number, select the option you wish to make default from its respective dropdown menu. This is also where you can add a new address, email, or phone number.

How to manage your billing address

If you wish to change your billing address, you can do so by selecting the card in question.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click on the Wallet & Apple Pay icon.
3. Select the card you want to change from the sidebar.

4. Under the Billing Address dropdown, select Add a new Billing Address.

5. Enter the new billing address and press Save.

How to view recent Apple Pay transactions

Want to see what you've purchased recently with your card and Apple Pay? You can do so from the System Preferences screen.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click on the Wallet & Apple Pay icon.

3. Select the card you want to view from the sidebar.

4. Click on the Transactions tab at the top of the screen.

To have your Mac alert you for all transactions made on your Mac with this card, you can also select the Show transaction notifications from [card] checkbox.

How to return a purchase with Apple Pay

Each retailer's policy varies; some may be able to reverse the charges with a click of a button, while others may require you to re-authorize with Touch ID or return in-store.

How to troubleshoot Apple Pay

If you're having trouble getting Apple Pay to accept your card, the simplest solution is to just try entering in your information again. Worst-case, you may just need to call your card issuer. For example, one card we tried to set up never sent the verification code to our phone number on file, so we had to manually retrieve it through the phone system.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments.

How do you pay in-store and in-app safely and securely with your credit card, debit card, or loyalty card? With Apple Pay!

Apple Pay, which lives inside the Wallet app, keeps all your credit cards, debit cards, store cards, and loyalty cards safe and secure on your iPhone or iPad. With Apple Pay you can use your Visa, Mastercard, American Express card, or Discover Card at any store that accepts tap-to-pay, or in any app that incorporates it. With Wallet, you can also board a plane, scan for your coffee, get into a movie or concert, accumulate loyalty points, and more. All right from your lock screen or with the tap of an icon.

Looking for help with Apple Pay on Apple Watch? Here's what you need to know!

How to set up Apple Pay

Apple Pay lets you make in-store purchases with your iPhone, and online purchases with your iPhone or iPad, with just a touch of the Home button and a scan of your fingerprint. It makes credit and debit card purchases easier and more secure. All you have to do is set it up and start using it!

• How add a card to Apple Pay
• How to authorize a card for Apple Pay
• How to change the default card for Apple Pay
• How to remove a card from Apple Pay
• How to troubleshoot cards for Apple Pay

How to manage Apple Pay

Buying with Apple Pay is incredibly convenient, but it's even more convenient if things like your shipping address are properly set up and ready for you in advance. Once you've made the purchase, being able to see your transactions, both recent and detailed, means never having to wonder about a purchase or wait for a statement again.

• How to manage your shipping address for Apple Pay
• How to view recent Apple Pay transactions with Wallet
• How to view detailed Apple Pay transactions with Settings
• How to return a purchase in-store with Apple Pay
• How to allow payments on Mac with Apple Pay on iPhone

How to use Wallet

Wallet— formerly known as Passbook — is Apple's digital answer to manage the cards that are overfilling your purse, wallet, and pockets. Location aware, Wallet can conveniently present appropriate cards for you right on the lock screen whenever you get close to your coffee shop or airport. Always connected, Wallet can even update your balance or gate number in real time so you always know how much you have or where you need to be.

• How to add cards to Wallet
• How to refresh cards in Wallet
• How to reorder cards in Wallet
• How to share cards from Wallet
• How to remove cards from Wallet
• How to turn off/on automatic updates for Wallet
• How to turn off/on lock screen access for Wallet
• How to turn off/on location access for Wallet

More Apple Pay delays Down Under.

Apple Pay may already have a modest presence in Australia, but that modesty is set to continue for the foreseeable future.

In late July, four of Australia's biggest banks submitted an application to the country's competition overseer, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), to enter into a collective boycott of Apple over the California-based company's mobile payment system, Apple Pay.

To the banks, Apple's dominant position in the market would lead to a situation where it would preclude the banks themselves from effectively competing in this up-and-coming space. They wanted the Australian regulator to force Apple to open access to its closed-off NFC chip inside the latest iPhones, allowing the banks to integrate their own in-app mobile payment solution, as is possible on Android.

This week, the ACCC denied the banks' request, further delaying the proliferation of Apple Pay, and mobile payments in general, throughout the country. The Commission noted that allowing the collective bargaining would go against the country's anti-cartel laws, and pointed out that mobile payments need not rely on NFC access — other banks use a combination of Bluetooth, QR codes and other methods to achieve the same ends.

The regulator's decision is in draft, and a final copy will be submitted next March, giving the banks more time to appeal the decision. To its credit, Apple has continued to point out that it already has a presence in Australia through ANZ, a smaller regional bank, and has relationships with 3,500 institutions in 12 countries.

You can create a unique and secure virtual card for Square Cash to add to Apple Pay.

Square Cash, the payment service app that lets you send and receive money with just a few taps, was updated with the ability to add your Cash Virtual Card to Apple Pay. This makes it possible for you to take advantage of Apple Pay's ultra secure payment service anywhere it is accepted, even with your Apple Watch. Here's how to set it up.

• How to enable your Square Cash account with Apple Pay
• How to use Square Cash as your Apple Pay payment option on iPhone
• How to use Square Cash as your Apple Pay payment option on Apple Watch
• How to remove your Square Cash account from Apple Pay

How to enable your Square Cash account with Apple Pay

You may have already been prompted to add your Cash Virtual Card to Apple Pay. If you didn't set it up automatically when prompted, you can add it manually.

1. Launch the Cash app from your Home screen.

2. Tap your profile picture in the upper left corner of the screen.

3. Scroll down and tap My Cash under the Funds section.
4. Scroll down and tap Add to Apple Pay under your Virtual Card.

You can now use Apple Pay to make payments with your Square Cash account.

How to use Square Cash as your Apple Pay payment option on iPhone

When you're ready to make a purchase, you can use Apple Pay at participating locations and then choose Square Cash instead of your default card.

1. Hold your iPhone near the payment reader. Do not rest your finger on Touch ID.
2. When your default card appears, swipe it down.
3. Select the Cash Virtual Card.
4. Rest your finger on Touch ID.

How to use Square Cash as your Apple Pay payment option on Apple Watch

The process to switch to the Square Cash Virtual Card on Apple Watch is similar to the process on iPhone.

1. Double-click the side button.
2. When your default card appears, swipe to the left.
3. Select your Cash Virtual Card.
4. Hold your Apple Watch near the payment reader.

How to remove your Square Cash account from Apple Pay

If you decide that you no longer want your Square Cash Virtual Card linked to Apple Pay, you can remove it. You can always add it back at a later time if you change your mind again.

1. Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.

2. Scroll down and tap Wallet and Apple Pay.

3. Tap the Cash Virtual Card.

4. Scroll down to the bottom and tap Remove Card.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about adding or using your Square Cash Virtual Card with Apple Pay? Put 'em in the comments and we'll help you out.

Ditch the keychain cards and excess plastic by using Apple Pay and the Wallet app instead.

I love using Apple Pay around stores in my neighborhood: It's quick, easy, and almost always gets a delighted reaction from employees. I recently upped my Apple Pay game, however, by jumping into the fun world of digital rewards and loyalty cards.

These cards have been supported on the iPhone since iOS 9, and make it extra-easy to earn bonus points on your purchases at select stores. Sadly, I have to emphasize "select" here — adoption from merchants has been slow, even though they're easy and delightfully fun to use.

All of the programs that currently support Apple Pay Rewards and Loyalty cards

Unlike many barcode-style Wallet passes, rewards and loyalty cards have specific code within them that allows those cards to automatically pop up on Apple Pay scanners before you pay with a credit or debit card. In contrast, passes like Starbucks Rewards can be added to your Wallet app, but you have to manually select the card and hold it out to be scanned.

These are the rewards and loyalty cards we know of that are currently supported in the Wallet app:

• Walgreens Balance Rewards
• Coca-Cola Vending Pass
• Kohl's Yes2You Rewards


Know of other programs we're missing? Let us know in the comments!

How to add a Rewards card to the Wallet app

Note: This process varies depending on the program you've signed up with, but usually involves downloading the merchant's app. Below, we'll walk you through signing up with the Walgreens Balance Rewards card.

1. Download the appropriate app for your merchant.
2. Open and log in to the app with your rewards login.

3. Tap on the link to Show Your Rewards Card.

4. Select the Add to Apple Wallet button.
5. Choose whether to add a Preferred Store Location.

6. The initial digital rewards card will display. Press Next.

7. Choose whether to Automatically Select the card when visiting the merchant's location. This will automatically load the pass before your credit or debit card when you pay with Apple Pay.
8. Press Done.

How to use an official Apple Pay Rewards card at the store

1. Enter the store and shop for your items, per usual.
2. During checkout, pull out your iPhone or Apple Watch.

3. If you've added a Preferred Location, you'll be prompted with an alert to open the card on your Lock screen.

4. Move your iPhone or Apple Watch within a foot of the payment terminal to bring up the payment screen; if that doesn't work, double press the Home button to display it.
5. If you've chosen for your rewards card to Automatically Select, it will display first as an option for scanning, followed by your credit or debit card.
6. Authenticate your purchase with Touch ID.

How to use a digital rewards card from the Wallet app without Apple Pay

If the store in question doesn't have an Apple Pay terminal, you can still have the cashiers scan your digital rewards card.

1. Enter the store and shop for your items, per usual.
2. During checkout, pull out your iPhone or Apple Watch.
3. If you've added a Preferred Location, you'll be prompted with an alert to open the card on your Lock screen.

4. If you haven't, open the Wallet app on your iPhone or Apple Watch and select your rewards pass.

5. Tap on the button at the bottom of the pass that says Show Code. If you don't have an official Rewards pass, this barcode may already be automatically displayed.
6. Have your cashier scan the resulting barcode.
7. Pay for your item with a physical credit card, debit card, or cash.

Questions?


Let us know in the comments.

Square will waive fees and offer a free marketing kit in order to help boost Apple Pay use.

Square has announced a new initiative that would let small businesses process $12,000 worth of payments made with Apple Pay for free, saving these businesses up to $350 in Square costs. Businesses will, of course, need Square's NFC-equipped card reader, as well as Square's free Apple Pay marketing kit, which encourages customers to use the payment system.

From Square:

Sellers can request a free Apple Pay marketing kit with collateral encouraging customers to pay with their iPhone or Apple Watch and staff training materials to educate employees about accepting Apple Pay. The processing credit is available once sellers have set up their countertop display for verification.

The company previously experimented with a similar program in Portland, Oregon in 2016. Over the course of the trial, participating Portland Square retailers saw the number of contactless payments triple.

While Square's most recent card reader accepts credit and debit cards equipped with EMV chips in addition to contactless payment methods like Apple Pay, these cards offer a slow, cumbersome experience next to Apple Pay.

Apple Pay will come to Taiwan soon, though a launch date hasn't been announced.

Apple will soon be rolling out Apple Pay in Taiwan. While the company has yet to set a launch date, it has announced partnerships with seven of the island's banks for the contactless payment system.

On its Taiwanese site, Apple lists partnerships with Cathay United Bank, CTBC Bank, E.Sun Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank and Union Bank of Taiwan. The company will undoubtedly add more banks to the lineup over time. In other countries, Apple has also made deals with credit card companies like American Express while agreements with banks were still being hammered out.

Taiwan will be the fourteenth territory to see the arrival of Apple Pay, and the sixth in the Asia-Pacific region, since its launch in late 2014.

Fitness is fantastic but there's one thing Apple Watch does that really feels like magic.

"How do you want to pay for that?""VISA."Tap. Beep."Wow, that's amazing. Is that your watch?"Smile."Boarding pass?""On my watch!"Scan."Wow, that's incredible! Apple Watch?"Nod."Here's your coffee!"Scan.""Wow! I've gotta get one of those!. "Want me to pay for gas?""Nah, I got it."Tap."What is that, magic?"

Long before Watch was even announced, I began to wonder about what I'd want from Apple on my wrist. Convenience was my killer feature. If Watch could save me from having to reach for my phone in order to do a few important, frequent, yet simple things, it'd be the equivalent of my phone letting me leave the house without my computer.

But convenience is a hard feature to demo in the wild.

When iPhone first came out, it was cool but it wasn't some abstract coolness that made people's eyes light up. It was the specific coolness of pinch-to-zoom in Photos or Maps, or Cover Flow in iPod. Those were immediately, undeniably cool.

When Apple Watch first came out, I had trouble finding a similar demo. It didn't help that Watch wasn't a minimally delightful product in the same way as iPhone. Apple introduced it with a bevy of features which made isolating one as the go-to demo harder: Mickey may have made people smile but it didn't make them want to immediately rush out and buy.

With Watch Series 2 and watchOS 3, Apple found their focus in fitness. The product still does a lot more, of course, but the messaging and advertising has been all about those rings and workouts.

For all the greater clarity and coherence, though, the Activity Rings and Workouts still don't make a great demo. Don't get me wrong — I love closing all my Activity Rings every day and the motivation that the new sharing features provide, but if you just show those rings to people they don't get it at a glance, not like they did with pinch-to-zoom.

Then, over the last few weeks, something started happening. I went to to Apple Pay for lunch at a local restaurant and instead of the man saying "Wow!", the man behind the counter held up his own Apple Watch. Instead of the woman at Air Canada gate being shocked when I scanned my boarding pass, she held up her Watch to show me she'd just gotten one too. Instead of the guy at the Starbucks drive through thinking my Apple Watch was cool, as he reached out to scan my digital card, I saw he was wearing one of his own.

A photo posted by Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) on Nov 30, 2015 at 10:43am PST

By some estimates, Apple sold 5.6 million Watches over the holidays— a quarter where Watch was and remains bafflingly constrained. That could bring the total number of Watches sold so far to a 25 million. I'm sure the new fitness focus and campaigns had something to do with that and I'm sure when people use those feature they love them.

But Apple Pay and Wallet? That's the "Wow!" moment. That's the demo I'd been looking for and the one that's been right in front of me this whole time. It's what my friends, who recently go Apple Watch, are messaging me all excited about. It's what the guy at the coffee shop counter loved when I stepped up, tapped, paid, and was on my way while the person beside me was still counting out cash. It's the magic.

Fitness is cool. Fitness is fantastic. Fitness absolutely makes our lives better. I love the first and latest ads Apple's done for Watch around fitness. But I can't help but wish for a really great Apple Watch ad centered around Apple Pay and Wallet next.

Paying at retail or at a drive-through or while jogging past a corner store. Getting your movie tickets, boarding your plane, or picking up your loyalty points. I'd even fold in opening the door to your hotel room and unlocking your Mac. An ad like that, done with the usual Apple panache, would make the convenience of Watch manifest.

Apple has succeeded in making paying for things not just cool but fun as well. Paying for things. Fun. That's something to show off.

My guess is we haven't seen a lot of this yet because the U.S. has only just begun to adopt tap-to-pay technology. That'll change, though. And as it does, I think we'll see a lot more of those "wow" moments, and Apple will sell a lot more Watches.

Apple Pay is big in Australia, even if some banks aren't willing to adopt it.

Apple Pay's chief, Jennifer Bailey, is sending a stern warning to five Australian banks unwilling to negotiate with the company over the nascent payment service, saying that customers will begin looking for greener, more mobile payment-friendly pastures.

In an interview with Australia's Financial Review newspaper, Bailey said that the banks don't understand the value proposition of Apple Pay, and that by ostensibly paying lip service to their customers by demanding access to the iPhone's NFC chip, they are missing an important opportunity.

The banks are fighting Apple because they are concerned about the tech giant's ability to capture the market for digital wallets – cards stored on smartphones – which is expected to grow strongly.

Bailey told AFR that after applying to Australia's regulator to enter into a collective boycott of Apple Pay, the companies have been unwilling to negotiate with Apple directly, and therefore haven't been able to learn about customer benefits of the program. The banks are demanding that Apple open up the NFC capabilities of its iPhones so that they can provide payment services of their own in apps available through the App Store. Bailey says that's not possible and never will be.

Apple says it will never be able to grant the applicant banks' request for their own, proprietary digital wallets to access the "near field communications" chip in the iPhone (which communicates with payments terminals), because this would result in users having to manually, through the phone settings, change the app communicating with the NFC, a clunky process which would reduce take-up.

The one big Australian bank that has adopted Apple Pay, ANZ, says that over a quarter of its customers are now using Apple Pay, and that 10 times more customers use payments with their Apple devices than on Android Pay.

Other banks, like ING Direct and Macquarie Bank, will enable Apple Pay this month for their customers, and Bailey says that as more institutions sign up for the service, Australians will make even louder demands of their obstinate banks — or leave altogether.

Owners of certain Jaguar models will soon be able to pay for gas from their cars.

Jaguar and Shell have announced a new in-car payment system for use at gas stations. The new shell app, which will be part of an update to Jaguar's F-PACE, XF, and XE car models, allows drivers to use Apple Pay or PayPal to pay for gas at the pump without needing to pull out their credit or debit card.

The system is rolling out first in the UK, according to Jaguar:

Rather than using a card at the pump, or queuing in the forecourt shop, owners who install the Shell app can simply drive up to any pump at a Shell service station (initially in the UK and then globally) and use the vehicle's touchscreen to select how much fuel they require and pay using PayPal or Apple Pay.

After you pay, your electronic receipt will appear on screen, and will also be emailed to your right away. In addition to PayPal and Apple Pay, the system will also support Android Pay later in 2017.

E la Carte's latest terminal lets you use Apple Pay to pay for your meal right at your table.

E la Carte, the company behind a number of restaurant-focused tools, has announced a new Apple Pay-compatible payment terminal meant to be installed at tables, the PrestoPrime EMV Terminal. The terminal would allow customers to use contactless payment systems like Apple Pay, as well as magnetic stripe and EMV chip credit and debit cards, right at their table.

From E la Carte:

"Brick-and-mortar payments and security requirements have changed dramatically in the last 5 years. We wanted to take a leadership role in helping our partners navigate these volatile waters, while also generating direct operating benefits that offer a real hard dollar ROI to recoup their investment," said Raj Suri, CEO and founder of E la Carte. "Combining robust security with a frictionless user experience, PrestoPrime EMV sets the bar as the best tabletop platform available to restaurant operators."

E la Carte has not yet announced availability for the PrestoPrime EMV Terminal, though it will demonstrate the product at a restaurant industry conference in April.

Payment processor WePay has announced its support for Apple Pay on the web.

Online payment platform WePay, which offers integrated payments for the likes of GoFundMe, Zoho, Freshbooks, and other services, has announced support for Apple Pay. This allows you to use Apple Pay when checking out of online stores powered by WePay, both on the desktop and mobile web.

From WePay:

WePay's launch of the Apple Pay and Android Pay products means platform customers can now pay for goods and services with just a single touch — gone are the days of having to manually enter payment and shipping information at checkout.

Apple Pay on the web arrived last fall with iOS 10 and macOS Sierra, allowing customers to use Apple Pay in online stores just as they would at brick-and-mortar retail locations. Other online payment backends, including Stripe and Shopify, have added support for Apple Pay on the web since launch.