Apple CEO Tim Cook told an audience on Thursday at the company’s annual iPad launch event that Apple Pay, the company’s eagerly anticipated new mobile payment service, will launch on Monday, Oct. 20.
Apple Pay joins a crowded mobile payment space, with major competitors like Google and upstarts like Venmo busily refining and expanding their own offerings. Apple is betting that its existing userbase will flock to its service if it carries Apple’s distinctive sheen of usability and performance.
At the event, Cook ran through Apple Pay’s features, including one-touch checkout and purchase information privacy. The service will function both as a mobile payment option in stores and as a checkout option online.
Cook said that Apple had partnered with over 500 banks for Apple Pay, adding, “We think that it is going to be profound.”
Apple announced the service at its iPhone 6 launch event last month. Although its launch date became official today, internal business memos had tipped Apple’s hand in recent days. On Wednesday, 9to5mac posted a memo sent to employees of Apple Pay launch partner Panera Bread which listed Oct. 20 as the launch date.
Despite the very near release of the system, more than a few popular retailers still have no plans for implementation. That said, major banks are more than enthusiastic about Apple Pay.
Photo via Apple.com | Photo via Random Retail/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Jason Reed
