Apple Pay dominates US card industry with new partnership

Credit card firm Discover yesterday announced a brand new partnership with Apple Pay, meaning that the technology giant now represents every major credit card company in the United States.

The collaboration shows that the card issuer acknowledges customer complaints. Many users commented on the lack of accessibility concerning contactless payments. Discover card members make up 7.2 per cent of the American credit card market, and in the autumn of this year, they will be able to use the iPhone 6, 6 plus and the recently released Apple Watch to make contactless payments in store.

In addition to this, Discover’s card users can purchase items on their iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 through Apple Pay.

Discover customers don’t have to worry about potential security concerns with this new partnership. When card members add their credit card to Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device or on Apple servers. Instead, a unique device account number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the secure element on a device.

Apple Pay adds Discover to a long list of credit card issuers that it represents, including Visa, MasterCard and American Express who joined Apple Pay late last year.

‘‘As the mobile payments landscape matures, Discover remains committed to giving cardmembers secure options for using their cards and mobile devices. Discover’s focus on simplicity and value for our cardmembers aligns well with the way Apple Pay makes purchases easy and convenient,’’ announced Diane Offereins, president of payment services for Discover.

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