Apple Pay, which was unveiled to the world at the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, has officially launched in the U.S. today alongside iOS 8.1. Experiences with the service on its first day have been mixed, and notably, Eddy Cue this morning to acknowledged that in saying that Apple still has “a lot of work to do.” Some banks are requiring verification processes which are taking time, and some widespread credit card companies, like Discover, aren’t yet supported at all. But some experiences with Apple Pay have been seamless and it seems that, so far, the service is working as expected despite its slow roll-out.
Customers can use Apple pay at a wide variety of launch partners, including Aeropostale, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Foot Locker, Office Depot, Urban Outfitters, Apple’s own retail stores and many others. If you want to get your device set up to use the service, be sure to check out our guide to getting started with Apple Pay, and be sure to let us know what your experience has been so far. As for the rest of the internet, with the exception of some locations having employees who are simply uneducated about the service, it appears as if public opinion is fairly positive.
Piper Jaffray Apple analyst Gene Munster tested it out at a few locations and had this to say:
Walgreens uploaded a video showing off a demo of the service in one of its stores:
One experience at McDonalds got caught on video:
Another McDonalds experience was documented, in which one customer had an awkward encounter at the drive through:
Gizmodo gave the service what they called a “slightly rocky spin”:
TechCrunch seems to have had a pretty good experience at Walgreens:
Harry McCracken of Fast Company is going to try to use the service as his sole payment method for a week:
Reactions from Twitter users have been generally positive, but as I’ve experienced myself, Wells Fargo verification seems to be delayed:
https://twitter.com/supertino/status/524294399501402114
Okay, just used #ApplePay. Simple. Tapped my #iPhone6Plus on the reader, scanned my thumb, done. Got an alert on my phone about my purchase.
— Brett Larson (@brettlarson) October 20, 2014
so I can’t verify my @WellsFargo cards with #applepay through the verify app. So Frustrating!
— Will Lassalle (@wlassalle) October 20, 2014
The service is already inspiring some Vines, too:
Just used Apple Pay! It’s so cool, and easy to use! #ApplePay #Apple
— Wayne Gross Jr. (@campingsk8er) October 20, 2014
Here’s the Verge’s initial run thru