We’ll drink to that. We’re pretty sure you will too. And not to drown sorrows over the news Apple Payments took a slight slump. But because even though it’s only mid week, there have been a lot of important announcements around Mobile Wallet, Apple Pay and mobile payments. Announcements that will enhance your next night out. Announcements we’re sure you’ll want to celebrate. Including PayPal’s latest news. Which is why we’ve compiled the following list – a step-by-step guide to getting merry with mobile payments, if you will – entitled ‘5 Apple Pay experiences that will enhance your night out’.
Apple Pay Experience 1 – Finding An Establishment
There’s a fast way to finding an Apple Pay experience around you. Right now. All you need is the MasterCard Nearby app. Simply open it up, allow location access, and even if you are not using MasterCard as your preferred method of Mobile Wallet payment, Nearby shows you all the locations in your area that accept the mobile payment service. Which means finding your next watering hole even easier.
Apple Pay Experience 2 – Getting To An Establishment
Now you’ve got the venue, you can get there just as easily. Well, if you’re in New York, Boston and parts of the UK you can. Apple Pay has been found to work in at least some New York taxis, since October 2014. Which means the payment experience is now most likely a lot smoother than the ride. And it’s in part due to Apple’s decision to support existing contact-less payment infrastructure that you can find in most merchants, not just taxis.
Oh and if you can afford it, there’s an Apple Pay experience waiting for you inside the UBER app as well.
Apple Pay Experience 3 – Paying The Bill
Let’s face it, a lot of establishments already take Apple Pay. Over 700,000. And that includes a few Coke machines. But you might be fancying a tipple from a less popular venue. Dare I say it, a more ‘hipster-esq’ microbrewery. But don’t worry. The answer is HERE, from PayPal.
PayPal have just launched a version of their mobile card reader ‘HERE’ that now accepts NFC payments, including Apple Pay. It’s another bold move from the virtual payment company started by notable visionary Elon Musk, shortly after they split from eBay. Which means even the smallest of watering holes can now accept and offer you an Apple Pay experience. Which is something we can all drink to.
Apple Pay Experience 4 – Settling A Beverage Induced Bet
New Apple patents are a wonderful thing. There are cult followings devoted to trawling the Internet for clues and new submissions, just for a scrap of evidence that a new feature or function will soon emerge. Because despite being accompanied by rather crude drawings, you can usually gather a lot from a simple patent. Just like the one we recently uncovered, which will offer you an exciting new Apple Pay experience.
Apple will soon let people send content to one another directly through their native Passbook app (soon to be Apple Wallet in iOS 9). At the moment they imply that content is money (payments), but the real value will come in leveraging this new patent (peer-to-peer sharing through Apple Wallet) for more diverse mobile wallet content, like event tickets, loyalty points, club member status and more.
It basically means you can settle any bill, debt or beverage induced bet with one simple Apple Pay experience.
Apple Pay Experience 5 – Recovering The Next Day
And lastly, a stunning piece of news from the US has meant that Apple Pay is about to take off even more. With the announcement that Rite Aid will now backtrack on their CurrentC standpoint. Originally Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) loyal merchants turned off Apple Pay and Android Pay functionality in their stores, as a sign of allegiance to MCX (who are developing their own mobile payment platform). A blow to Apple Pay experiences across the US, but one that would mean they wouldn’t have to pay Credit Card “swipe fees” – MCX’s proposed CurrentC Checkout App wouldn’t charge merchants for transactions. However, things have changed.
CurrentC is yet to launch (it’s been promised for a while) and it’s leaving a lot of MCX loyal merchants behind. Which is why companies like Rite Aid are turning Apple Pay back on. What this means for you is that you can now recover from your Apple Pay experience night out with a pain relief purchase at Rite Aid, using Apple Pay.
BONUS Apple Pay Experience 6 – Take Off To A Better Night
Bars are one thing, but relaxing in a private jet is out of this world. Or at least pretty far above any other Apple Pay experience. But that’s exactly what you can now do with mobile payments. The SkyJet Apple Pay experience lets you charter an on-demand private jet with your mobile, using Apple Pay to finish the transaction on phone (as opposed to using an NFC payment device in a merchant).
It’s certainly one way to start/end your Apple Pay experience night out. And if you need any more excuses to book your own private SkyJet, they’re giving away a free Apple Watch or iPad for the first 50 bookings using their new SkyJet iOS app.
Apple Pay Experience On A Night Out – Key Takeaway
Apple Pay works (in the US and UK so far). It works well, in a lot of places. And there are a lot more to come. Plus with companies like Rite Aid giving in to Apple Pay – seeing the potential of O2O solutions – you’ll soon see it everywhere. So go out, and enjoy an Apple Pay experience of your very own. Make a night of it.
And raise a glass to the future.
Cheers.
