Apple continues on its struggled journey to launch Apple Pay in China after talks with both UnionPay and a selection of Chinese banks continue without deals being sealed.

According to the MarketWatch report, Apple is still not in a position to launch the service in the region with backing from the banks and China's credit and debit card system operator, with previously announced support scheduled to arrive with iOS 8.3 not materializing:

"Apple started talks with UnionPay about using its network last year and hoped that by March it would have an agreement in place that would allow consumers to make payments via their iPhones. But the U.S. tech company is still struggling in its relationship with UnionPay, people close to the talks say. Those sources also say Apple has not made any breakthroughs in talks with Chinese banks, which would also have to agree for the Apple Pay system to work."

It's a major setback for the American company, which requires both Chinese banks and UnionPay to be on-board to offer Apple Pay to consumers in the region. It's believed the reasoning behind the breakdowns and stalls in discussions between the parties involved comes down to Apple Pay fees.

"In the United States, Apple Pay says it gets 0.15% of the 2% fee paid by merchants for each credit-card payment and half a penny for each debit card payment. But Chinese banks argued those charges were too steep, an employee of a large bank said. Many large banks that are already part of mature point-of-sale networks do not want to lose such a large percentage of their profits in a deal with Apple Pay, he said."

Apple is aware of the importance of China, particularly for Apple Pay. Tim Cook previously confirmed that Apple was planning to launch new services in the market, but the company had to understand how the payment system works in China. This is reportedly proving somewhat troublesome as banks and UnionPay continue to disagree on how Apple Pay would be implemented.

Source: MarketWatch

I love Apple Pay, but I wish it wouldn't automatically trigger for every NFC chip everywhere.

On Wednesday, I spent a lovely afternoon with my aunt, uncle, and gentleman friend at Fenway Park in Boston to see the Red Sox. (Unfortunately, they ended a two-game winning streak by losing quite definitively 10-5 to the Nationals, but it made my Montreal-born aunt pretty happy.)

But we came close to not making it through the gates, thanks to an iPhone quirk with NFC and Apple Pay.

Apple Pay, NFC, and iPhone mishaps

On your phone, Apple Pay works by automatically detecting a compatible NFC reader and bringing up the payment screen. If the NFC reader isn't actually a payment terminal, you'll still get the screen, but any attempt to pay will provide you with an error: As there's no connection to your banks, you won't be able to authorize with Touch ID.

That keeps your data (and your money) safe, but that automatic screen can cause other issues — as I discovered at the ball park.

I had our game tickets as a PDF on my phone in Dropbox, but when I went to scan them, Apple Pay popped up. The ticket reader also happened to be an NFC terminal. Eeek.

I tried several times to trick my phone into not pulling up Apple Pay — turning on Do Not Disturb and Airplane Mode, trying to dismiss the screen — but no luck. Eventually, the ticket-taker pulled out a hand scanner and was able to process our passes, but for a few moments, I was worried we'd be out of luck without a visit to the ticket office and paper reprints.

The ball park isn't the first interaction I've had with accidental NFC triggers, either. I've been at several restaurants whose pagers have NFC chips within them — get them too close to your phone while you sit and wait for your table, and you'll have an Apple Pay screen waiting for you to dismiss.

This is far from an "end of the world" problem, of course. But it's funny to me that a gesture Apple intended to make paying for things easy — just wave your phone over the terminal! — unintentionally makes other actions more difficult.

Watch what happens

It's also why I'm excited for Apple Pay and ticket scanning on the Watch: To trigger Apple's payment service on the Watch, you have to double-press the side button, then wave your wrist over the NFC device in question.

In part, this is done because there's no way to confirm you want to buy something on the Watch, like the iPhone's Touch ID authentication. But it also avoids NFC misfires, bringing up the Apple Pay screen only when you desire it loaded.

I'm not necessarily saying that the solution here is for the iPhone to have a dedicated Apple Pay button — that seems unnecessary and may clog up Apple's workflow. But would it be too hard to have a "Dismiss" software button in the top right corner, in case Apple Pay is triggered accidentally? Or keep NFC from working when Airplane mode is enabled?

Apple likely has plenty of bigger, more important problems to tackle, but it seems like a simple fix. Until then, I'm going to have to hunt down a printer the next time I head out to a Red Sox game.

Note: I've filed this quirk as a bug with Apple. It can be found at rdar://20570121.

A new report claims that Apple is working to launch support for Apple Pay in Canada in November 2015, expanding beyond the US for the first time.

While it might be a longer wait than anyone would like, it appears that Canadian iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners may be able to use Apple Pay by the end of 2015. A new report, from The Wall Street Journal, says that Apple is working with six major Canadian bank to enable support for Apple Pay in that country. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Lenders in discussions with Apple include Royal Bank of Canada,Toronto-Dominion Bank,Bank of Nova Scotia,Bank of Montreal,Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada, the people said. Together, those banks account for more than 90% of retail bank accounts, which could provide Apple with near ubiquity upon launch if final agreements are reached.

It's not clear if all of these banks will agree to support Apple Pay. Indeed, the article claims the banks have some issues with Apple's fee proposals:

It is also possible that Canadian banks could face higher costs than their U.S. counterparts, some of those people said. A base case for Canadian banks could be in the range of 15 to 25 basis points on credit card transactions to Apple, according to one of those people.

Apple Pay is currently supported by over 2,500 banks and 700,000 retail locations in the United States, and Apple has been looking to expand the service into other countries.

Check out how to use Apple Pay in our ultimate guide

Source: Wall Street Journal

Apple has once again added more banks and credit unions that support its Apple Pay service, bringing the total number of banks that use the payment service in the US to over 200.

Today, the company added 31 new banks and credit unions in the US to its Apple Pay support list. Here are those new additions:

• AmeriCU Credit Union
• Bankers Trust
• Central Minnesota Credit Union
• Chrome Federal Credit Union
• City Employees Credit Union
• Consumers Cooperative Credit Union
• Coulee Dam Federal Credit Union
• Desert Schools Federal Credit union
• DFCU Financial
• Digital Federal Credit Union
• DuPont Community Credit Union
• Fairfax County Federal Credit Union
• First Entertainment Credit Union
• Frankenmuth Credit Union
• Golden Credit Union
• Guarantry Bank & Trust
• IBERIABANK
• Municipal Credit Union
• Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union
• Patelco Credit Union
• Pima Federal Credit Union
• Quorum Federal Credit Union
• San Matero Credit Union
• SEFCU
• SkyOne Federal Credit Union
• South State Bank
• Suncoast Credit Union
• UMB Bank, n.a.
• US Federal Credit Union
• Vermont State Employees CU
• Wright Patman Congressional Federal Credit Union

If you are a customer at one of these banks, it means you can now use your credit card or debit card with your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to pay for items at retailers that also support Apple Pay, along with the Apple Watch, which officially launches on April 24. It's pretty easy to add your credit or debit card so that it will work with Apple Pay.

While the payment service is only live in the United States, there are rumors that it could launch in Canada sometime in November 2015.

Source: Apple

A new research survey shows that Apple Pay is gaining momentum at the expense of rivals like PayPal.

Apple Pay is proving popular among customers using mobile payment services. New data from 451 Research shows that people making purchases with a service like Apple Pay, PayPal, or Google Wallet prefer Apple Pay over other services. Apple's service outperforms others, with 66% of customers saying they were very satisfied with Apple Pay, over 45% for PayPal and 33% for Google Wallet.

Among those planning to make purchases with a mobile payment service in the next 90 days, 45% of customers chose Apple Pay, up 5% over the last few months. Over the same period, PayPal has seen a 5% decline in the number of users expressing a desire to use that service.

More users are feeling confident about the security of mobile payments. This latest survey reports that 24% of customers feel that mobile payments are more secure than traditional credit cards, up from 14% of customers one year ago, and despite some trying to link services like Apple Pay with credit card fraud.

If you're using an Apple Watch, you're ready to make purchases with Apple Pay at thousands of merchants in the US.

Just like you can already make payments with Apple Pay at physical shopping locations with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, you can do the same with Apple Watch. Once you've added your cards, it's as simple as selecting one and flicking your wrist. Here's how!

Remember that before Apple Watch, Apple Pay was only available to use at physical merchants with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Since the Apple Watch also have NFC technology built-in, it extends this functionality to any iPhone owner with an iPhone 5 or above. You'll just have to add your credit cards to Passbook first.

How to pay for something with your Apple Watch and Apple Pay

1. When you're ready to pay, double click the side button on your Apple Watch to bring up your payment cards.
2. Swipe from side to side to select the card you'd like to use.
3. Turn your wrist towards the reader and wait until you feel a confirmation tap and hear a beep, which means your payment was processed.

If you get a new credit or debit card, or one of yours expires, you'll want to remove it from Apple Pay on your Apple Watch.

Just like most things, our credit and debit cards end up expiring after a few years, or we replace them with newer cards that give us better perks. While you could always leave old cards where they are without any ill effects, Passbook will start to look quite cluttered and the cards you have to swipe through in order to find the one you want can become unmanageable. Just like you can remove cards from Apple Pay on iPhone, here's how to do the same on your Apple Watch!

How to delete a card from Apple Pay on Apple Watch

1. Launch the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on My Watch in the bottom navigation if you aren't there already.
3. Tap on Passbook & Apple Pay.
4. Tap on the card you'd like to delete.
5. Tap on Remove Card.
6. Tap on Remove in the popup menu to confirm.

If you use a particular credit or debit card more than others, you can set it as your Apple Pay default on your Apple Watch.

Most of us end up using a specific credit or debit card for making purchases more than the others. Perhaps you get more rewards with that specific card, or something else. Regardless of the reason, you can set a default card on your Apple Watch, just like you can on your iPhone. This way, you don't have to swipe through cards each time looking for the one you want to use. Just hold up your wrist and your default card is automatically used.

Keep in mind that if you only have one card added to Apple Pay on Apple Watch, it will be used as the default for obvious reasons. If you don't see the default card option in the steps listed below, it's most likely because you only have one card added. Try adding more and then the default card option will present itself.

How to choose a default card for Apple Pay on Apple Watch

1. Launch the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on My Watch in the bottom navigation if you aren't there already.
3. Tap on Passbook & Apple Pay.
4. Tap on Default Card.
5. Tap on the card you'd like to set as your default.

With the Apple Watch and Apple Pay, paying a tab or bill is as easy as waiving your wrist.

Apple Pay currently lets you pay for things on iPhone 6 and 6 Plus by tapping your phone and verifying your thumbprint via Touch ID. Apple Watch not only makes Apple Pay more convenient than ever, it also brings point of sale support for Apple Pay to older devices that don't have NFC (near-field-communication) built-in. In this case, that means iPhone 5, 5c, and 5s owners with Apple Watches can now take full advantage of Apple Pay.

As long as you're within the United States and have a credit or debit card from a supported bank, you can start using Apple Pay on your Apple Watch right now. Here's everything you need to know!

How to set up and add cards to Apple Pay on Apple Watch

Before you can actually start using Apple Pay on your Apple Watch, you'll want to add your payment cards. For security reasons, Apple Pay doesn't just pull your existing Apple Pay cards from your iPhone. You'll have to add them through the Apple Watch app itself. The process is identical and just as easy, However, if you need some help figuring it out or you're brand new to Apple Pay, we can walk you through adding your cards from start to finish.

• How to set up and add credit and debit cards to Apple Pay on Apple Watch

How to set a default payment card for Apple Pay on Apple Watch

Most of us use one card more than all the others. If that sounds like a habit you have, you can easily specify a default card for Apple Pay. This means you don't have to flick through cards in order to find it. Just hold your Apple Watch up to the payment terminal and Apple Pay will automatically charge whatever card you have set as default.

• How to pick a default payment card for Apple Pay on Apple Watch

How to make a purchase with Apple Pay on Apple Watch

Once you've set up Apple Pay and chosen your default card, it's time to use it! It's as simple as a few button presses and waiving your wrist. However, if you want to know exactly what to expect before you get to the payment terminal, check out our guide on exactly how Apple Pay on Apple Watch works.

• How to make an Apple Pay purchase with Apple Watch

How to remove a payment card from Apple Pay on Apple Watch

Whether your credit or debit card has expired or you just don't use a specific card anymore, there's no reason to have it in Apple Pay anymore if you aren't using it. That's why removing cards is just as easy as adding them. However, if you aren't sure how to remove an unwanted card, we can walk you through.

• How to remove credit or debit cards from Apple Pay on Apple Watch

The Discover credit card company has reached an agreement with Apple that will allow members in the US to start using Apple Pay this fall.

Discover said back in September they were "in discussions" to support Apple Pay but they were not among the launch partners when the payment service launched in October. Now the company has confirmed that its US members will be able to pay for goods and services via the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch beginning sometime this fall. A specific release date was note announced.

The company also said they will support Apple Pay for users who pay within apps on the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3. Discover added:

Discover credit cardmembers will still receive all of their current benefits, including Cashback Bonus and the new Freeze It security tool that allows them to stop any new purchases, cash advances and balance transfers when they temporarily misplace their cards. As part of the agreement, Discover Network will enable eligible financial institutions, including Discover Debit issuers, to let their card holders use Apple Pay.

Discover is the third largest credit card company in the US, behind Visa and MasterCard, and currently has 61 million cardholders.

Source: Discover

Best Buy is the latest major US retailer to add support for Apple Pay, first for inside its iPhone app and later in its retail store locations.

Apple Pay can be used right now to purchase items via the official Best Buy app for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. There's no word on when Best Buy's US retail locations will begin accepting Apple Pay, with the company only saying it's due sometime "later this year.". Best Buy's press release added:

Today's consumers have many different ways to spend their money and we want to give our customers as many options as possible in how they pay for goods and services at Best Buy.

The acceptance of Apple Pay in the Best Buy app is the latest enhancement for our mobile platform. We are opening a technology innovation office in Seattle this summer to focus largely on mobile and will continue to implement new tools to enhance the customer experience in this important growth area.

Source: Best Buy

InstaMed, a payment service provider for the healthcare industry, recently announced that it will begin to support Apple Pay as a payment option for its customers.

By adding support for Apple Pay, patients will be able to use the payment service to pay for services from InstaMed partner hospitals across the U.S. this year. Though InstaMed doesn't make mention of specific partners in its announcement, during Apple's Q2 2015 conference call, CEO Tim Cook said that over 50 major hospitals across the U.S. will accept Apple Pay this year:

Earlier this month, a leading health care payment network announced acceptance of Apple Pay for its clients, so over 50 major hospitals across the country — including Stanford Health Care and Aspen Valley — will accept Apple Pay this year for co-pays and bill payments at registration and check-in.

Though Apple Pay has seen wide adoption among banks and merchants alike, this marks the payment service's first major expansion into the healthcare industry—an industry that Apple has taken a keen interest in recently with its Researchkit efforts.

Source: InstaMed

Home Depot may have stopped accepting Apple Pay, following a deal to accept PayPal both in stores and online.

While Home Depot never formally announced Apple Pay compatibility, customers have been able to use it in several of the company's locations for some time now. However, it seems that Home Depot is now officially blocking Apple Pay at most of its retail outlets, pointing customers towards PayPal instead.

When asked about this lack of support, Home Depot sent this response, which was posted on Reddit:

We currently do not accept Apple Pay in our local stores or online. We do have the option of using PayPal, in store and online. We may offer this feature in the future, but we currently do not have a time frame for this and if we are going to accept Apple Pay.

It's unknown at this time if Home Depot has cut off other contactless payment services, but it seems likely. It appears, however, that some locations may still have Apple Pay enabled, as some people have reported that they are still able to make use of the service. Update: Home Depot says that their NFC terminals are down while they upgrade their system, according to Cult of Mac.

Given the massive data breach that the company experienced last year, which left 56 million customer credit cards exposed, you'd think that Home Depot would put customer security over a deal with PayPal. Apple Pay, which uses tokenization to keep your credit card safe, would offer greater security over traditional cards, and give users who don't want to use PayPal another way to pay.

Source: Matthew Crawford (Twitter), Reddit, Cult of Mac

Support for Apple Pay continues to grow as several more banks add support for the payment service.

Apple Pay has added support for 24 new banks and credit unions with these most recent additions. This brings the total number of institutions supporting Apple Pay to over 220. You can see the list of additions below:

• Bellwether Community Credit Union
• Benchmark Federal Credit Union
• Blackhawk Community Credit Union
• Community America Credit Union
• Community First Credit Union
• Connections Credit Union
• cPort Credit Union
• Denver Fire Department FCU
• Electro Savings Credit Union
• Elements Financial FCU
• First Financial Credit Union
• Greater Nevada Credit Union
• Harvard Universities Employees Credit Union
• Interra Credit Union
• Kern Schools Federal Credit Union
• Nusenda Credit Union
• People's Trust Federal Credit Union
• Premier America Credit Union
• Premier Members Federal Credit Union
• SAFE Credit Union
• Scient Federal Credit Union
• The Bancorp Bank
• Tucson Federal Credit Union
• Union Bank & Trust Co.

Apple Pay allows customers to pay using their iPhone or Apple Watch. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus come with Apple Pay out of the box, while the iPhone 5, 5c, and 5s owners can connect to an Apple Watch to use Apple Pay in stores.

To get started with Apple Pay, be sure to follow our guide for setting up your credit and debit cards with the system.

Source: Apple

Home Depot has confirmed that it has plans to support Apple Pay after all.

Following news from earlier today that Home Depot had seemingly started blocking Apple Pay at its retail outlets, the home-improvement chain confirmed to Bloomberg that it intends to offer official support for Apple Pay after it upgrades its payment terminals. From Bloomberg:

The retailer is updating its systems and intends to offer Apple Pay after the upgrade is complete, Home Depot spokesman Steve Holmes said, without providing a timetable for the rollout. The chain, which currently accepts PayPal, also may add other kinds of mobile payment, he said.

As Bloomberg notes, the rollout to Home Depot's more than 2000 stores will mark another broad expansion for Apple's budding mobile payments service.

Source: Bloomberg

Apple Pay is coming soon to its first hotel on the Las Vegas strip, as the The Cosmopolitan will begin supporting the payment service sometime in June.

The hotel will allow its customers to pay their bill at their front desk via Apple Pay, along with bills in its restaurants and bars, paying for items in some of its stores and more. However, there's no support yet for using Apple Pay to gamble in the hotel's casino. That means you won't be able to use it to fill up the slot machine or make a bet at the roulette table. VegasChatter states:

Cosmopolitan chief marketing officer, Lisa Marchese, states that "the arrival of Apple Pay on the Las Vegas Strip is a natural fit, offering increasingly mobile-centric, luxury travelers a streamlined and convenient experience. As always, we are thrilled to lead the market with a new component to a Las Vegas experience that makes everything a bit faster and a great deal easier."

It's likely that more Las Vegas hotels and resorts will add Apple Pay support in the near future, but who knows if it will be used for gambling in the future.

Check out our ultimate guide for Apple Pay

Source: VegasChatter

Tim Cook, who is currently in China to promote Apple's environmental initiatives in the country, shared details on plans to launch Apple Pay in the region.

Apple is currently negotiating with banks like UnionPay in the country as well as Alibaba, the largest e-commerce portal in China.

Speaking to China's Xinhua news agency, Tim Cook said:

We very much want to get Apple Pay in China. I'm very bullish on Apple Pay in China.

Alibaba was in discussions with Apple over the launch of Apple Pay in China last year, with the company's founder Jack Ma stating that he would be interested in a possible collaboration. Although both companies met, nothing was officially announced.

While Alibaba will no doubt be a key partner, a deal with UnionPay is needed for the program to take off in China, given that the bank is the only entity in China that handles inter-bank transfers, and has the necessary NFC-enabled network to handle contactless payments. Apple was in talks with several Chinese banks — including UnionPay — earlier this year, but an agreement was not reached.

Cook also shared plans regarding Apple's retail footprint in the country, stating that the company is targeting 40 Apple Stores by mid-2016, almost double that of the 22 stores currently present in China:

Forty is a good objective for us for mid next year.That is not where we want to end. We'll keep adding from there.

Source: Xinhua (iCrossChina)

Once you've unlocked your Apple Watch, wrist detection can keep it unlocked for as long as the screen is on or it maintains skin contact.

As security systems go, wrist detection is clever: It lets you have the convenience of accessing your Apple Watch without having to continually re-enter your passcode or password, but provides enough security to protect your data, including Apple Pay credentials under normal circumstances. In that way it's similar to Touch ID, which can unlock your iPhone or iPad based on your fingerprint.

The problem is, if someone really wants to target you, and they're a highly skilled thief, they can remove your Apple Watch and keep their own fingers on the sensors long enough to maintain skin contact and keep authentication alive. (There's a one-second window to prevent accidental re-lock due to regular movements of the watch on your wrist, so that's the time gap they'd have to work with). Likewise, if someone really wants to target you, and they're a highly skilled thief, they can lift your fingerprint and make a double for use with Touch ID. It's not a likely occurrence for the vast majority of people the vast majority of the time, and it's not something to be scared or sensational about, but it is something everyone should be aware of.

Well this is always been true, while this has always been true, it gained attention today following a story by Gadget Hacks.

Neither are flaws or bugs or exploits. Both are conveniences, and conveniences always come at the expense of security. Want Siri or Control Center on your iPhone Lock screen? Someone can ask for your contact details or put your phone into Airplane mode. Don't want that to happen? Turn of Siri and Control Center on your Lock screen. Likewise, worried about skilled fingerprint forgery or pick pockets, don't use Touch ID or wrist detection.

Personally, I'm fine with wrist detection, just like I'm fine with Touch ID and Siri. I'm not fine with Control Center so I disable that on the Lock screen. Apple provides tools, I choose which ones I want to use.

With Apple Watch, you do have the option of immediately revoking Apple Pay using your iPhone or iCloud.com. You don't even need to make a phone call to your issuer or go through a procedure.

If somehow someone finds you incapacitated, or incapacitates you, then the Apple Watch is no more or less at risk than anything else in your possession. That includes your iPhone, which can be unlocked with your own finger, and your wallet, car keys, and other valuables.

I do wish iOS and Watch OS would provide the choice to require both passcode and wrist detection or passcode and Touch ID, so those who are really concerned about security could give up convenience for the additional security two-step provides.

Absent that, wrist detection on Apple Watch is the same as anything else — don't let anyone scare you. Be informed and make the best choice for you.

A Trader Joe's near you may soon be accepting Apple Pay

Trader Joe's may soon be added to the list of retailers accepting Apple Pay. A number of the grocery chain's individual locations around the country have apparently upgraded their payment terminals recently to accept contactless payments, including Apple Pay. However, official support for the payment system may not come for some time, according to AppleInsider:

Managers at two California stores separately verified that Trader Joe's is experimenting with touchless payment solutions, including Apple's, but has yet to make a formal decision on support. Employees at other locations had not yet heard of upcoming functionality.

Trader Joe's would add itself to the growing list of retailers that have begun accepting Apple Pay in recent months. Other upcoming additions include Best Buy and Home Depot.

Source: AppleInsider

Apple has once again added more US banks and credit unions that currently support Apple Pay, bringing the total number of banks that use the payment service to nearly 200.

Today, the company added 34 new banks and credit unions in the US to its Apple Pay support list. Here are those new additions:

• 1st Financial Federal Credit Union
• Affinity Bank
• Bank of Springfield
• Berkshire Bank
• Box Elder Credit Union
• C&F Bank
• Centennial Bank
• Christian Community Credit Union
• Community First Credit Union of Florida
• Credit Union of Denver
• Denver Community Credit Union
• Education First Credit Union
• Educators Credit Union
• First City Credit Union
• First Premier Bank
• Freedom Credit Union
• NASA Federal Credit Union
• Numerica Credit Union
• Point Loma Credit Union
• PremierOne Credit Union
• Purdue Federal Credit Union
• Rivermark Community Credit Union
• Simmons First National Bank
• Star USA Federal Credit Union
• Summit Credit Union
• Synchrony Bank
• The Citizens Bank of Clovis
• UMe Federal Credit Union
• University Federal Credit Union
• Utah Power Credit Union
• Valor Credit Union
• Vermont Federal Credit Union
• WECU (Whatcom Educational Credit Union)
• WSECU (Washington State Employees Credit Union)

Customers at these banks can now use their credit card or debit card with their iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to pay for items at retailers that also support Apple Pay, along with the Apple Watch. It's pretty easy to add your credit or debit card so that it will work with Apple Pay.

Source: Apple Pay