Apple Pay may have caught the attention of the financial technology world, but in some ways Apple’s foray into payments is not particularly innovative. Apple has not created a new payment type, but rather changed the user interface so that consumers can now use their iPhones to make payments from their debit or credit card.
Behind the scenes, the transactions still run along the existing payment card rails, which, to consumers may seem like an instant payment. But, as Gareth Lodge, a senior analyst at Celent notes, a retailer accepting Apple Pay may not receive the funds until up to three days later.