The Apple Pay system has quietly added another US bank to its list of supported institutions. Commerce Bank, which has branches in a number of states, mostly in the Midwest, is now listed on Apple's support site, but just for its MasterCard.

While Commerce Bank also has a Visa credit card, it is apparently not included in Apple Pay. The bank itself has not yet officially announced its support of Apple Pay, but it has now become the 17th banking organization to join Apple's payment system included as part of iOS 8, along with the MasterCard, Visa and American Express credit card companies.

If you are a Commerce Bank customer, make sure to check out our article on how to add your MasterCard to Apple Pay.

Source: Apple; Via 9to5mac

Wells Fargo is highlighting the speed and efficiency of using Apple Pay to pay for groceries and other items at physical retail locations. Thanks to the convenient NFC tap-to-pay technology and the security of Apple's Touch ID, the bank says users can get more done in less time. In the ad, with the magic of Apple Pay, a man speeds through errands so fast that he ruined his surprise birthday party by coming home earlier than expected.

Apple Pay news may have slowed down a bit over the last couple of weeks, but there's still a bit rolling in ever so slowly. The latest sees L&N Federal Credit Union and UW Credit Union adding support for Apple's payment platform, along with M&T Bank adding support for small business debit cards.

Apple Pay support has slowly but surely been rolling out to new banks, with big names like USAA and PNC adopting it just last month. The total number of banks supporting the service is now up to 19, a list of which you can find over at the source link below.

Source: Apple

Apple Pay is the convenient new electronic payment method that Apple has built into the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Sometimes it isn't exactly convenient, though, and you may be required to electronically sign for the transaction. Isn't not having to do stuff like that the point? What's setting off the signature requirement, exactly?

In theory, Apple Pay is fantastically convenient: Just aim your iPhone at the payment terminal, hold down your finger on the Touch ID sensor, and the phone takes care of the rest, securely and quickly. But in some cases you may be required to sign for the purchase as well.

It isn't always the same vendor, and it isn't always the dollar amount that's setting it off. John Martellaro at the Mac Observer has done some digging to find out what triggers the signature requirement.

wondered about that, so I asked my own credit card issuers about their policies. What I found is that, in my two cases, 1) there is no fixed dollar amount that dictates when I have to sign and 2) there is a very sophisticated, tiered fraud prevention system, from the credit card corporate level, then down to the issuing bank, and finally the merchant that may dictate when I have to also sign.

So it turns out that the reason may vary depending on what credit card is being used, what the issuing bank does, what merchant you're at, and what existing policies are in place for electronic transactions through every step of the way.

Source: The Mac Observer

MasterCard has debuted a new Apple Pay ad featuring Gwen Stefani. The ad, which you can watch above, is a part of MasterCard's "Priceless Surprises" campaign that gives cardholders a chance to earn prizes by simply using their MasterCard.

The ad features Gwen Stefani firing off prizes from a cannon toward unsuspecting cardholders as they buy things using their MasterCards with Apple Pay. In a statement announcing the ad, MasterCard explained their choice of Gwen Stefani as a spokesperson:

"Gwen Stefani's personal brand, consumer appeal and sheer energy are what make her an ideal partner to serve as an ambassador for our Priceless Surprises platform," said Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing officer, MasterCard. "This platform has really taken hold and is inspiring a movement of Priceless Surprises whereby we're providing unexpected surprises to our cardholders and in turn they are sharing surprises with others in their lives. With Gwen's help we hope to further this movement."

Source: Mastercard; Youtube

While iPhone owners in China may not yet have access to Apple Pay, it looks like they can still look forward to using Touch ID with their mobile payments. Alipay, a mobile payments platform run by Alibaba in China, was updated Tuesday with support for Touch ID verification.

The addition of Touch ID verification in Alipay Wallet replaces the app's previous password verification process, and should be available immediately to users.

In addition, a report by China Daily says that Alipay is working on bringing other biometric verification processes to the platform:

Alipay, which has more than 300 million users in China, said it is working on other biometric technologies, which can make it possible for people to confirm payments for a wide variety of goods and services by winking or simply by showing their faces in the near future.

The integration of Apple's fingerprint sensor in Alipay could be the first step towards the two companies working together. Just last month, Alibaba's Executive Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai hinted that Alipay could provide the back-end services for Apple Pay in China.

Source: China Daily

Apple Pay has now been added to both the official MLB Ballpark app and Priceline app, with full support for in-app transactions. For MLB Ballpark, you can now purchases single-game tickets for select clubs using Apple Pay. Similarly, Priceline will now allow you to use Apple Pay to quickly and easily buy Express Deals.

Along with Apple Pay support, both apps also picked up official support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

MLB.com Ballpark

• Introducing Ballpark – a new name for your favorite ballpark companion app
• Native resolution for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
• Apple Pay – a new payment option when buying single–game tickets for the 2015 season (Select MLB Clubs Only)

Priceline

Apple Pay™ is here!

• Use Apple Pay to quickly and securely pay for hotel Express Deals® with a single touch.
• Payment is easy -- simply select Apple Pay and place your finger on Touch ID™.
• Supported on iPhone 6, iPhone 6+, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3.

Score super deals at super speed

• We've also improved checkout to make it easier to complete your reservation.

Priceline also announced a few other features in their press release:

• Hundreds of new mobile-exclusive deals with three and four star hotels and an expansion of priceline.com's popular Tonight-Only deals for same-day reservations.
• iOS 8 priceline.com "Today Widget" that is displayed in the Today View of the Notification Center allowing travelers to view upcoming trip information without launching the app.
• Cross-device Handoff from iOS 8 and Mac OS X Yosemite feature for a seamless experience from iPhone and iPad to Mac so consumers can shop for deals wherever they might be during the day.

If you're excited to get your Apple Pay on for tickets and travel, hit up the links below to give the apps a shot.

• Priceline - Download (free)
• MLB Ballpark - Download (free)

Since it launched in October, Apple Pay has expanded its support by adding many more banks, credit cards and retailers in the US. Today, the company revealed Apple Pay now supports cards that cover the vast majority of the card purchase volume in the US.

Apple revealed these new statistics to the New York Times, adding:

The new companies that recently agreed to work with the service include SunTrust, Barclaycard and USAA. Ten more banks, including TD Bank North America and Commerce Bank, will back the new form of payment on Tuesday. With the new additions, Apple says it supports the cards that represent about 90 percent of the credit card purchase volume in the United States.

Staples, the big-box office supplies retailer, now accepts Apple Pay at its 1,400 United States locations. Chain grocers like Winn-Dixie and Albertsons take it, too. And on Friday, Amway Center, the home to the Orlando Magic basketball team, will accept Apple Pay at many of its retail and food and beverage stands during games.

The story said that Whole Foods has taken 150,000 Apple Pay transactions since it launched. McDonalds added that 50 percent of its tap-to-pay transactions in November used Apple Pay.

Source: New York Times

Passbook is a convenient way to organize your loyalty cards, boarding passes, tickets, and even your Apple Pay-linked credit cards in one place. Once you start accumulating a lot of items in Passbook, however, you may find it gets rather cluttered. Luckily, you can sort and reorder Passbook cards so that your most frequently used cards are right where you want them.

One note about Passbook cards and Apple Pay: Although your loyalty cards and passes are located in the same place as your Apple Pay-linked credit cards, you can't mix and mingle them. Credit cards stay separate at the top of Passbook. That said, you can reorder either set of cards within their own areas however you'd like.

How to reorder Passbook and Apple Pay cards on iPhone

1. Launch the Passbook app on your iPhone.
2. Press and hold the card you'd like to move.
3. Drag it to the position you want it in and release it.

A London job posting for an Apple Pay intern hints at Apple's plans to expand its digital wallet service beyond the U.S. where it launched. According to the posting for an intern based in London, Apple is looking to expand its payment services to Europe, Middle East, India, and Africa.

The job listing was spotted by iClarified:

Apple Pay is a new and exciting area in Apple that is set to expand across Europe, Middle East, India and Africa. Apple Pay will change the way consumers pay with breakthrough contactless payment technology and unique security features built right into their iPhone 6 or Apple Watch to pay in an easy, secure, and private way. The new London-based Apple Pay team will work to drive the roll-out of this technology across EMEIA by working with a variety of internal and external partners, including teams in the US where the product will first launch and the EMEIA organisation, as well as Issuers, payment networks and merchants across Europe.

The site also reports that Apple is also looking to hire an Apple Pay Site Reliability Engineer in China.

Apple Pay now supports credit cards that are used in 90 percent of purchases in the U.S.

Source: iClarified

A new research examining mobile payment trends since the October 20th launch of Apple Pay shows that Apple is gaining traction in the space. In the month of November, Apple Pay captured 1 percent of the digital payment dollars and among new users, Apple Pay was used regularly three times as much as rival service PayPal.

The data released from ITG Investment Research based on the company's mobile payments report shows:

• 60% of new Apple Pay customers used Apple Pay on multiple days through November, suggesting strong customer engagement. In comparison, New PayPal customers used the service on multiple days during the same time period just 20% of the time.
• Apple Pay customers used the service roughly 1.4 times per week and used Apple Pay at the same merchant for future transactions roughly 66% of the time.
• Upon adoption of Apple Pay, the average consumer uses the service for approximately 5.3% of all future card transactions and 2.3% of all future card dollars spent.

And while Apple Pay only captured 1 percent of the digital payment dollars, Google's similar and competing Google Wallet service, which launched a few years ago in 2011 only captured just 4% given its lead to market.

Source: ITG

Disney announced that it would bring contactless payments to its resorts before Christmas, and is now rolling out the feature on December 24. Visitors heading to Walt Disney World will now be able to pay using Apple Pay from their iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Last year, Disney rolled out MyMagic+, through which customers could charge purchases made within the resort to their hotel room. The technology leveraged RFID and made use of wearable bands called MagicBand, which allowed customers to interact with contactless payments gateways within the resort.

Disney has stated that support for other forms of payments like Apple Pay and Google Wallet are designed to make it more convenient for customers visiting the resort to purchase merchandise and other goods. Here's where support for Apple Pay is currently available within the resort:

Initially, most stores, quick service restaurants, bars and ticket sales booths will be included. Any locations that use portable payment terminals, such as table service restaurants, will be added later.

The locations that accept Apple Pay will feature the EMVCo symbol. Disney is expected to bring contactless payments to the Disneyland Resort in 2015.

Source: WDWMagic

Apple is currently in talks with major UK banks to launch Apple Pay in the first half of 2015. According to a report in The Telegraph, discussions with at least one bank have proven to be tricky due to the debate over just what customer data Apple will be able to access.

The service by Apple enables consumers to save their credit and debit cards to their supported mobile device, which can then be used at "wave and pay" terminals. After verification is successful via a thumbprint scan, the transaction is completed momentarily.

It is understood the bank is uncomfortable with the amount of personal and financial information Apple wants to collect about its customers. Some executives fear Apple Pay and the data it delivers to Apple could serve as a beachhead for an invasion of the banking industry.

The banks are, however, interested in accepting and working with Apple Pay simply because it's gaining traction in the US. This news also comes after a recent job position hinted at global expansion.

Source: The Telegraph

It looks like your pay at the pump experience might soon involve an NFC chip and an Apple logo. According to a tweet sent out by Chevron, the oil company is looking to integrate Apple Pay into its gas pumps at some point in early 2015.

@SingAsana We are working alongside Apple to develop solutions to integrate with Apple Pay at the pump by early 2015.

— Chevron (@Chevron) December 29, 2014

This would be an extension of Apple's current partnership with Chevron, which has already integrated Apple Pay at the registers of its Texaco and Chevron gas stations.

Apple Pay has been slowly garnering more and more support over the previous months. Just this morning, we saw news that the payments platform may soon pick up support from major banks in the UK in the first half of 2015. Overall, it looks like Apple's weight might be just enough to finally push mobile payments into the mainstream.

Source: Chevron (Twitter); via MacRumors

New York City authorities are looking into accepting Apple Pay - as well as other gateways - for parking fines, making it easier for those affected by the ten million tickets issued annually ($30 billion in revenue) to conveniently pay up. Should the payment gateway be supported, drivers will be able to use their iPhones to pay fines instantly.

Should the city's finance department opt to support Apple's service, an up-to-date system will be able to take advantage of technology available today, as opposed to paying via mail, online (reportedly not mobile friendly) or in person. It's also hoped the city will be able to cut down on late penalties for unpaid violations.

The idea would be to have the offender scan the ticket barcode, which would download ticket details and initiate payment using Apple Pay. While nothing has been set in stone, it's interesting to see more ways Apple Pay may be used and would be warmly welcomed by those who'd rather not fork out on fees for using their credit cards on parking fines. Other payment gateways being looked into include PayPal and Bitcoin.

Via: Marketwatch

A new report says that support for Apple Pay has expanded in the US once again to include eight more banks and credit unions.

According to 9to5Mac, the new additions to Apple Pay include

• Security Service Federal Credit Union
• Consumers Credit Union
• Virginia Credit Union
• Cyprus Federal Credit Union
• Fairwinds Credit Union
• Mountain America Credit Union
• Partners Federal Credit Union
• Customers Bank

It adds:

The new card issuers added today follow latest additions, Fremont Bank & NIH Federal Credit Union, added last month. Apple continues to monthly roll out support for additional banks as it works to add the more than 500 US banks it previously said would support the new payments service.

In December, Apple announced that Apple Pay now supports cards that cover the vast majority of the card purchase volume in the US.

Source: 9to5Mac

Apple is reportedly readying for the Canadian launch of Apple Pay in the early part of 2015. The launch could apparently happen as soon as March. This would potentially be the first international expansion of the service since it debut in the United States in October 2014.

From 9to5Mac:

Sources say partners are currently in negotiations with Apple regarding the launch scheduled to come sometime in the first half of this year. Apple and Canadian launch partners are in the process of planning advertising and other promotional material for March, which indicates that the launch could come as soon as then.

Apple has also been rumored to be in talks with banks to perform a wider global rollout of the service beginning at some point this year.

Source: 9to5Mac

Verifone, the company behind payment terminals found in millions of stores, has announced a new mobile point of sale (mPOS), the PAYware Mobile e355. Designed to help companies deploy mobile devices in their stores, the PAYware Mobile is meant to outlast current phones and tablets, adaptable to changes in form factor. It accepts multiple payment types, including magnetic stripe, EMV, and NFC payments such as Apple Pay.

From Business Wire:

The PAYware Mobile e355, the newest mPOS terminal in the Verifone Mobile suite of products, frees merchants from consumer technology upgrade cycles and adapts to multiple OS options. It is a flexible, long-lasting device that can accommodate different form factors and outlive smartphone and tablet models. This enables merchants to make long-term investments in mPOS, at a much lower cost of ownership. Furthermore, it supports all of the major OS options, including Android, iOS and Windows.

Verifone expects the PAYware Mobile e355 to be available in late summer 2015.

Source: Business Wire

Apple Pay has apparently been a big hit for Bank of America. The company announced today that nearly 800,000 of its customers have used Apple's payment service since it launched in October, and those users have added about 1.1 million cards.

The numbers were released, without additional comment, as part of Bank of America's fourth quarter 2014 financial earnings. However, they would seem to indicate a growing acceptance of Apple Pay, which is currently available for use on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

In related news, more grocery stores in the US now support Apple Pay. Shoppers at 217 Lucky, Save Mart and FoodMaxx locations in Northern California and Nevada can now use the payment service.

Source: Bank of America; Via: 9to5Mac

Apple Pay— or Pay if you're fancy — makes it both easier and safer to pay for things in everyday life and online. That can come in particularly handy when traveling or when getting ready to party. Whether it's for the SuperBowl this weekend or for a great group of friends any day of the week, as long as you have Apple Pay, you're ready for fun.

Reminder: If you're staying home, NBC will be streaming the SuperBowl for free!

TicketMaster

Ticketmaster lets you browse, buy, or transfer over tickets to concerts, games, theatrical presentations, art shows, and more. Find what interests you, book it, and enjoy!

• Download now

Airbnb

If you show or game is out of town you'll need a place to stay. For larger groups, or simply for offbeat accommodations, Airbnb gives you access to over 600,000 places in 34,000 cities. And it also gives you the option to earn some extra money from your place while you're away!

• Download now

Stayful

If boutique hotels are more your scene, Stayful helps you find the best places and negotiate the best rates. You need to be booking for the next 30 days, but Stayful can match your preferences and make sure you find a great place!

• Download now

Hotel Tonight

If you want a hotel proper, and you're booking within 7 days of your trip, Hotel Tonight is for you. You can find a great room for a great rate, even at the last minute.

• Download now

Spot Hero

If you're driving to where you're going, you're going to need to find a place to park. Spot Hero helps you do just that. Browse, book, and save up to 50%.

Uber

Tap a button, get a ride. It can be simpler and faster than public transport and cheaper than driving yourself and paying for parking. With ApplePay, you don't even need an account.

• Download now

Lyft

Getting into town isn't the same as getting around town. Lyft lets you arrange convenient community rides to get you from where you're staying to where you're going.

• Download now

OpenTable

Got time before or after the big game or show? With OpenTable you can book an amazing meal at a convenient restaurant so the party can start early... or feel like it's never going to end.

• Download now

Target

If you're not traveling but watching to game or show and hosting the party at your place, you can use Target's app to order everything you need.

• Download now

Instacart

If you're hosting the party and planning on feeding your guests in style but don't have time to go shopping, Instacart can bring the groceries to you. Whole Foods, Costco and more, all delivered in one hour!

• Download now

Postmates

If you don't even have time to cook, or to pick that something important you forgot, Postmates will bring it right to your door. The best food from the best restaurants, drinks, even electronics. It's just that easy.

• Download now

Merchbar

Part of the fun of a show or game is the memorabilia you get to bring back with you. If you're staying home to watch, Merchbar lets you order that memorabilia to your home, so nobody has to miss out.

• Download now

Your favorite Apple Pay travel and fun apps?

We'll be organizing our own SuperBowl, UFC, and other parties, and we want the be easy, but we also want them to be great. So, if you've got Apple Pay, and you've got apps you love to use with it, let us know!