Apple: Federal government embracing Apple Pay, enabling support for federal-payment cards

Federal government embracing Apple Pay, enabling support for federal-payment cards


Tim Cook is set to speak ahead of President Obama today at the White House Summit on Cybersecurity at Stanford University, and the White House has already shared some unexpected news regarding government support for Apple Pay. As noted by Bloomberg, the White House announced that federal-payment cards will support Apple Pay, including debit cards where veteran benefits and Social Security payments are issued.
“The White House announced Friday that Apple Inc.’s mobile-payment system will be enabled for users of federal-payment cards, including Social Security and veterans benefits that are paid out via debit cards. The deal includes the Direct Express payment network and government cards issued through GSA SmartPay, which handles more than 87.4 million transaction worth $26.4 billion each year, according to the General Services Administration.”
The endorsement of Apple Pay by the federal government is a nod to the mobile payment service’s enhanced security features.
Apple Pay allows users to make contactless payments over NFC in place of swiping a debit or credit card using either the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. Payments are authorized by a user’s fingerprint using the iPhone’s Touch ID fingerprint scanner. With the release of the Apple Watch in April, Apple Pay in retail stores will also be available for iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5s users.
Rather than using the actual credit or debit card number, Apple Pay relies upon a unique Device Account Number stored securely on the iPhone or Apple Watch to avoid sharing personal information with merchants.
Below is the official statement from the White House:

Apple, Visa, MasterCard, Comerica Bank and U.S. Bank are committed to working together to make Apple Pay, a tokenized, encrypted service, available for users of federal payment cards, including DirectExpress and GSA SmartPay cards.

Apple Pay is currently supported by more than 60 banks and credit unions with both merchants and apps accepting payments using the mobile payment service.

Apple Pay adds support for 8 new card issuers/banks

America First Credit Union announces Apple Pay support for its Visa card

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1. pratik1432 says: hi
   
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2. ijb3 says: FANTASTIC! A well played strategic Win/ Win for Apple and iPhone 5 users.
   
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   • Edison Wrzosek says: I believe you mean iPhone 6/6+ users…
     
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     • nsxrebel says: Once the Apple Watch comes out, Pay will work with the iPhone 5 as well. ;)
       
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     • ijb3 says: that is correct…Sorry, that’s what meant by win/win (promote the watch and benefit end user still using the 5x, but cant break contract to get the 6…..)
       
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3. 89p13 says: And CurrentC is where . . . . . :)
   Stillborn is the correct answer!
   
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4. absarokasheriff says: Wow, this was an accelerant I didn’t see coming. International Expansion, Corporate Cards, dissolution of Current C fiasco, App Expansion and Retailer Expansion are others.
   Great week, Jet Blue, Star Bucks App, Chow Now (700 apps), and now the Federal Government. Best week ever.
   
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   • Odys (@twittester10) says: Ditto on this plus Apple crossing historical $700bil cap â€" Good things comes in bunches â€" its is also a lesson to so called “Apple fans” who whine and jump ship when Apple do not give them spaceship to fly every WWDC or iPhone launch. Lesson here â€" keep calm and trust Apple:)
     
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5. taoprophet420 says: This isn’t news at all. It was announced in October last year that all government cards would start being chip and pin Jan 1, 2015. Apple Pay is just a NFC version of chip and pin using Touch ID to verify the transaction. The secure enclave in iPhones work the same as the chip in and chip and pin card.
   
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6. Taste_of_Apple says: Awesome news.
   
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7. The Butcher says: Reblogged this on pundit from another planet.
   
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