Apple enticing retail shoppers to sign up for Apple Pay with $5 promo
Mike Wuerthele
A promotion starting this week in the U.K. and U.S. to boost adoption numbers for Apple Pay gives users $5 in iTunes credit to users willing to sign up for and pay with the service inside Apple's own retail stores.
The Apple Pay signup offer has retail employees in Apple Stores walking new users through the setup process for the payment service, including linking a compatible bank account for payment. After initial setup, and after the purchase in the Apple Retail store, the $5 is awarded on the spot.
Users can keep the $5 credit, even if the purchased item is returned. AppleInsider has learned that to qualify for the service, the user must present a device without Apple Pay enabled. Existing users are disqualified from receiving the credit.
In February, Apple claimed that the Apple Pay service was available at more than two million retail locations. Rapid adoption has been held up somewhat in the US by slow rollout of EMV chip-card-compatible credit card readers necessary for Apple Pay, with only one in five retailers on-board with the new technology.
Additionally, Apple Pay implementation in Safari, called "Pay on the Web" will launch as part of the macOS Sierra update this fall. Users will see an Apple Pay button during checkout with supporting merchants, and authorize the transaction via Continuity using Touch ID on an iPhone, or with a currently-worn, unlocked Apple Watch.
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