The other day I forgot my wallet at home and I couldn’t stop thinking, “if only I could use my phone to pay for food”. Later that day, I read an article about Apple Pay, a digital payment system that allows people to pay using their phone. I thought, “Wow, if only this was available now”! Sadly, that is not the case. Apple Pay will only be available for the new iPhones and watches. However, Bill gates said in an interview that this new technology has a higher chance of gaining critical mass, as Apple’s true role is in creating the market. That means if Apple Pay is successful, all the platforms will possess this payment capability.

There have previous attempts on launching a successfully digital payment system. There was Google Wallet in 2011 as well as Softcard in 2010, however, neither were able to take off due to a variety of reasons.

I’m pretty excited about Apple pay, even though I have an iPhone 4. I don’t think this digital payment system will solve a problem of using credit cards, as I don’t think there is one. However, contactless point-of sale-systems are increasingly widespread, especially in Canada and the U.K., as about 20% of transactions in Canada are contactless, according to Mastercard.

The shift from cash, to credit card, to tapping, is changing consumer’s behaviours slightly, as all of these payments methods are still used. However, I think that once this payment system is well-established and worked out all its kinks, everyone will be using there phones to pay for things. It’s simple, easy, and you never have to worry about forgetting your wallet again.