[mikeash]

The key word there is "specifically." Apple Pay may require technology that isn't 100% deployed, but it is a generic and standardized technology that long predates Apple Pay, not some new Apple-only technology that the boys in Cupertino came up with and foisted on the world.

I don't understand your security point at all. It hasn't prevented any breaches? How do you know? It doesn't validate cards you enter into Apple Pay? If you possess the card (or can make one from having possession of the card data) then you can already use it fraudulently, loading it into an iPhone is just an extra unnecessary step for the thief. The security advantage is that malicious terminals can't steal card data, and stealing your method of payment doesn't confer the ability to pay. It's not perfect by any means (and again, not something us consumers need to even care about), merely better than a regular plastic card.