Apple Pay is trying to eliminate the need for a wallet, but some companies are not allowing its use in their stores.

Students hoping to use the Apple Pay system cannot use it at the local CVS on South Crouse Avenue after the CVS Health Corp. announced on Oct. 25 that it would not allow customers to use Apple Pay at its stores. Apple Pay, a program that allows shoppers to use an iPhone 6 or Apple Watch to pay for products from various stores, was released on Oct. 20.

CVS is currently partnering with stores including Rite Aid and Wal-Mart on their own digital wallet called Current C.

Apple Pay seeks to eliminate the need for traditional payment methods and, thus, a wallet. The program is considered a virtual wallet. Other virtual wallet programs have been developed in the past, but have not caught on.

The product has the backing of many big-name companies including JPMorgan Chase, Macy’s, Nike, Bloomingdale’s and more, according to Apple’s website.

Brian Sheehan, an advertising professor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, said he believed CVS had adopted a “wait-and-see” approach with the product.

Jason Dedrick, a professor in the School of Information Studies, said he thinks Apple Pay will try to create an ecosystem of merchants and customers. Merchants and customers are engaged in a chicken-and-egg scenario with Apple Pay and other forms of digital wallets, he said. Neither customer nor merchant wants to be the first to make the change, because they want to see if the product will be successful and do not want to waste money on a product that may not work, Dedrick said.

Many people are likely to have concerns about the security of Apple Pay given recent iCloud breaches, like the celebrity nude photo scandal, Sheehan said. Dedrick added that there have also been security problems with Home Depot and other companies, which Apple will have to address.

Sheehan said another potential issue for companies like CVS will be that it has to update software to accommodate for Apple Pay.

Despite setbacks with companies like CVS, Sheehan said he thinks the product has the potential to be successful.

“Apple has a very legitimate chance in succeeding in a mass migration from cash to the digital, which would be astounding,” he said. “There is also a huge advantage to having the name Apple, which is associated with hallmark products that everyone buys.”

Dedrick said if Apple Pay wants to succeed, it will need to expand its services to other kinds of smartphones such as the Android.

“What would increase Apple Pay becoming widely accepted is doing what Apple did with iTunes. Originally iTunes was only compatible with Macs, but once the product was made compatible with PC, an even larger market was opened up,” he said. “So with Apple Pay there would be a need to make the product available on the Android so even more costumers use Apple Pay.”

Published on November 4, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Connor: clried@syr.edu