iOS 8 with Apple Pay Release is Oct. 20

The new iPhone 6 can be used to pay with its built-in NFC chip. To actually use Apple Pay, Apple still needs to release an update to iOS 8.0. The iOS 8.1 update is supposed to include Apple Pay functionality and according to Bank Innovation will be released on October 20.

If Apple releases Apple Pay functionality on October 20, that would also mean some Apple Pay terminals should go live in some stores. Without that the feature will be useless.

Apple is also rumored to hold an iPad event on October 21. The release of the new iOS 8.1 one day before is not unusual. It is expected that the new iPad Air 2 will also be able to be used for Apple Pay.

Apple Pay works with iPhone® 6 and iPhone 6 Plus through a groundbreaking NFC antenna design, a dedicated chip called the Secure Element, and the security and convenience of Touch ID™. Apple Pay is easy to set up, so hundreds of millions of users can simply add their credit or debit card on file from their iTunes Store® account.

Apple Pay supports credit and debit cards from the three major payment networks, American Express, MasterCard and Visa, issued by the most popular banks including Bank of America, Capital One Bank, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo, representing 83 percent of credit card purchase volume in the US.* In addition to the 258 Apple retail stores in the US, some of the nation’s leading retailers that will support Apple Pay include Bloomingdale’s, Disney Store and Walt Disney World Resort, Duane Reade, Macy’s, McDonald’s, Sephora, Staples, Subway, Walgreens and Whole Foods Market. Apple Watch will also work at the over 220,000 merchant locations across the US that have contactless payment enabled. Apple Pay is also able to make purchases through apps in the App Store℠.

Read more about Apple Pay.