Cashless payments: Apple Pay launches in Germany

today, Tuesday, starts Apple Pay in Germany and thus allows cashless payment with the close radio technology, NFC. With a short Hang-up the credit card at the supermarket, terminal pay, the works already for a long time. It also works with the Smartphone or a sports watch, keywords: Google Pay, Garmin Pay.

Michael Spehr

editor in the Department “technology and Motor”.

F. A. Z. Facebook Twitter

So Apple Pay works On the iPhone with Face ID, press key twice to the right Side, unlock the device via facial recognition, or the Code, and holds it over the payment terminal. If you have an older iPhone or iPad with Touch ID, you put your Finger on the home button and then runs the device to the Terminal. With the Apple Watch, the payment process is started with two-times Pressing the page button.

Apple Pay since 2014 in some dozen countries of the world, it is considered to be very safe, and there is a single case of abuse or fraud is not yet known. Before the Pay must be stored in the App “Wallet”, a virtual credit or debit card of the Bank through which the transaction is processed.

In the Apple world, you can only be with Apple pay. Because the iPhone has a special security chip, the “Secure Enclave”, which is separated from the operating system. This data area is not released by Apple for third parties, so that there can be no NFC payment apps from third parties. In the payment process, Apple sends with the close radio technology, NFC, a Token to the Terminal. This Token is a number, in which the data are entered, the Bank card is encrypted. Apple is more, neither the card number nor the identity of the customer to the merchant.