The iPhone 6 And The iPhone 6 Plus Are Shown During An Apple Event At The Flint Center In Cupertino
The iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus are shown during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, September 9, 2014. Reuters/Stephen Lam

Apple Pay is one of the new features that come with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 and Apple Watch that were announced last Sept 9. Apple Pay is mobile payment service that will be available for the users on the new iPhones in the coming month.

Initially, the service will be only made available in the U.S., but later it will be available globally. With the Apple Pay feature, iPhone and Apple Watch users will let users to use their devices to perform payments instead of using credit cards or removing cash from their wallets to make payments.

When you use the Apple Pay service, sensitive data like credit card information and your expenditure details will not get stored on Apple's servers. Making payment through Apple Pay has become possible because the newly launched iDevices come equipped with NFC, the Secure Element and Touch ID. Here is a low down on each of them:

NFC

Apple iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch are enabled with NFC (Near-Field Communication). Through NFC, connection can be established between devices within a range of up to 10cm. With this feature on your iDevice, you can use it make to payments at retail shops just like you use credit cards and smartcards.

The NFC feature came to Android devices when the Android v4.4 was released. Apart from three Apple products that were unveiled last Sept 9, none of the existing iDevices feature NFC.

Secure Element

Since software based security features can be cracked easily, Apple has implanted a more secure hardware solution for Apple Pay called the Secure Element inside the new iDevices.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has an inbuilt called the Secure Element that stores the financial information such as credit card details and fingerprint impressions of the user. For each transaction, it generates a unique 16-digit number called Device Account Number that is the only way to access the financial information stored in chip for making a payment.

The Secure Element has its own operating system, battery, processor and RAM. So, the financial data is not stored on the operating system software or any other software on the phone. That means if anyone accesses your phone without your consent, they will not be able to hack your sensitive data stored inside the Secure Element

Touch ID

The Touch ID is a fingerprint recognition feature that is embedded inside the Home button of devices like iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The fingerprint data is securely stored in the Secure Element.

How to Use Apple Pay for Making Payments?

It is very easy. First, you need to tap your iPhone at the payment terminal that will detect and communicate with the NFC chip and then you will be prompted to scan your finger using the Touch ID. The device's Secure Element will then generate the Device Account Number that will contain your card number in encrypted form. This data will be sent to the NFC chip that will be communicated to the payment terminal and your transaction will be complete. It takes only few seconds to make a payment using the Apple Pay feature.

Using Apple Pay on Apple Watch

Even though the Apple Watch does not feature a Touch ID sensor, it will still allow users to make mobile payments through Apple Pay. According to The Verge, after adding credit or debit card information to the Apple Watch, users will able to use the smartwatch at the cash register to make payments.

So this indicates that the Touch ID is not an important feature to use Apple Pay. The Apple Watch is dubbed to be more secure since the device remains strapped on the wrist of the user. So, there is miniscule risk of misusing an Apple Watch without the consent of its owner. Apple has reported through a press release that even iPhone 5, 5S and 5C owners will be able to take advantage of Apple Pay.

Apple Pay Support

The Apple Pay program supports most of the credit and debit cards such as Visa and MasterCard from leading banks of the U.S. When the Apple Pay will be launched, it will be able to accept payments at more than 220,000 stores like Staples, Subway, MacDonalds and Whole Foods Market. It will even support purchases through popular apps like Groupon, Starbucks, Target and more.