Apple Pay has launched in the UK, bringing the contactless payment system to stores including Boots, Costa, Lidl, Marks & Spencer and Nando's.
More than 250,000 shops across the UK will accept Apple Pay from day one, with Transport for London also supporting the payment method on its network. The UK is the second country to get Apple Pay after the service launched in the USA in October.
But questions remain about how Apple Pay makes money, with Apple unwilling to discuss the topic.
A spokesperson for coffee-chain Costa confirmed to WIRED the firm wasn't losing any money by using Apple Pay, and said it wasn't paying any premium compared to standard transactions. Presuming Apple is taking a small cut to run the service this would suggest banks are taking a hit on each transaction -- though that remains unconfirmed.
On London's transport network people have also been having problems understanding how Apple Pay works.
People touching in with an Apple Watch and out with an iPhone linked to the same Apple Pay account are being charged a maximum fare. This issue, which TfL describes as "card clash" is a result of how Apple Pay works.
Apple Pay "creates its own unique ID for each product", a TfL spokesperson told WIRED.co.uk. People are advised to only use one device when travelling around London.
We asked TfL how its weekly caps would work on the system. Specifically, WIRED asked if two Apple devices, each using the same Apple Pay account, would contribute to a single weekly cap on charges, or if two running totals would be kept. TfL explained that all charging and capping was done on "the basis of individual devices". "To benefit from daily and weekly capping customers need to use the same device. Data on which devices are paired with each other is not available to us," the spokesperson explained. "If two devices linked to the same account are used on the same day they will get billed twice."
If people try to trick the system by sharing Apple Pay devices with friends or relatives, TfL said its fraud prevention algorithms would pick up on unusual activity.
Anyone wanting to use Apple Pay to make payments in shops will need either an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus or an Apple Watch. The service is also compatible for in-app purchases on iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3.
Apple Pay supports most major credit and debit cards, although the UK's banks have been slow to take up the technology. American Express, MBNA, Nationwide, NatWest, RBS, Santander and Ulster Bank all support the service from launch.
Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank and TSB are all listed as "coming soon" by Apple.
Barclays has to this point appeared to focused instead on its own bPay contactless payment system, but in a Tweet the bank said it would support the system in future.
Payments are currently limited to £20, rising to £30 in September. In a note to retailers last month Apple said payment terminals would need to "support the latest network contactless specifications" to take larger payments.
Stores that have already upgraded their payment terminals to support Apple Pay verification through Touch ID aren't subject to a payment cap. Pret is "limitless" from launch, with Boots removing the cap in November.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
