Apple Pay is now one-step closer to becoming a standard NFC-based mobile payments system by adding 10 new retail collaborates in USA.

Apple Pay is now one-step closer to becoming a standard NFC-based mobile payments system by adding 10 new retail collaborates in USA. With these new retailers, Apple’s NFC Payment Service, now supports 68 merchants and 13 more are coming soon.
Major new Apple Pay partners include GameStop, T-Mobile Stores and the Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic, and Phoenix Suns NBA franchises.

The new Apple Pay partners are,

1. Acme
2. Davis Food & Drug
3. FireHouse Subs
4. GameStop
5. Golden State Warriors
6. Luby’s
7. Orlando Magic
8. Phoenix Suns
9. Rubio’s
10. T-Mobile Stores

Apple is planning to add 13 more merchants to Apple Pay and here is the list of upcoming merchants,

1. Albertsons
2. Anthropologie
3. Carmike Cinemas
4. Edition
5. Free People
6. Jersey Mike’s Subs
7. L.L. Bean
8. Marriott
9. Pep Boys
10. Raleys
11. Regal Cinemas
12. Renaissance Hotels
13. Urban Outfitters

Launched with the iPhone 6 and 6 plus back at the end of the last year, Apple Pay quickly gained traction among customers as favorite NFC payments system. Apple Pay allows customers to make contactless payments by holding their smartphone up to a payments terminal at participating vendors. Apple Pay is secured by Touch ID and does not store actual credit card numbers on the device or on Apple’s servers. Apple instead uses a method known as tokenization, which authorizes the transaction without actually providing a user’s credit card number.

With the upcoming Apple Watch, the use of Apple Pay will likely to get a further boost.

Note: To activate Apple Pay on Apple Watch simply tap twice on the watch’s side button.