Many people still don’t know what Apple Pay is and how it works. While that’s because some people never shifted from Android devices and Google Wallet, others stick to debit and credit card transactions. Every payment method is useful with its own set of benefits and characteristics. Apple introduced Apple Pay as a mobile payment system for its customers, users, and other people worldwide. The number of Apple Pay users in September 2020 was over 507 million people.
The number of users keeps increasing, and the app’s growth rate is expansive. However, there are many security concerns and safety issues that users are raising worldwide. Despite the impeccable level of payment services and perks Apple Pay offers, users have found several security issues and safety concerns on point.
Is Apple Pay Safe?
Yes, Apple Pay is safe to use. You can securely send money and safely make purchases with Apple Pay.
What Does Apple Pay Help With?
Using Apple Pay, you can make private, convenient, and repetitive transactions online. The transactions may be in any online marketplace, in App Store, or for apps within the App Store or on the web. For US Apple customers/ users, the Apple Pay in Messages service enables users to share money amongst themselves. Plus, the Apple Pay Wallet offers contactless rewards through which you can redeem and receive rewards all while paying through Apple Pay.
The company claims to keep all the necessary privacy and security concerns at the forefront when developing the application for use. Nevertheless, users still found issues and hurdles regarding the safety and privacy of Apple Pay.
Safety Features Offered by Apple Pay
You can use the popular mobile payment system with any app, merchant, or web retailer that accepts Apple Pay transactions. Furthermore, you can even send or receive money online through the Apple Pay in Messages features. But, the security concerns can be quite stressful, especially for uninformed or experienced users. However, here are a few security measures that Apple Pay authorizes and practices without any delays:
- It uses NFC (near-field communication), a chip-based communication technology that utilizes a card reader without requiring any physical contact with it. In simple words, the card stays inside your wallet.
- The transaction processes involve a tokenization method. It refers to creating and using a unique encrypted code for one-time use only.
- Users can disable the Apple Pay account through the iCloud system if there are chances of a breakthrough or cyberattack.
- No merchant can ever view your original Apple Pay card account number.
- The app offers two-factor identification, including security options such as Face ID and fingertip sensing passcodes.
Apple Pay: White Hat Attack Reports and Claims
You will keep asking yourself whether or not to trust Apple Pay after learning about the “white hat” hackers’ attempt at breaking Apple Pay. The report claims that the hackers infected a device with certain malware that intercepted payment/transactional data as the iPhone user entered it. The malware also intercepted the data while it went to the Apple server. Though certain professionals claim that can only happen with a “jailbroken” iPhone (i.e., an iPhone with tampered security software).
That’s not all! Another unconfirmed report claims that when an iPhone Apple Pay transaction takes over a Wi-Fi hotspot, hackers can easily intercept the data. The report also claims that the hackers can easily reuse the cryptogram to catch onto the Apple Pay transaction making it highly unsafe. While there aren’t any solid leads or evidence of how any hacker could reuse the cryptogram more than once, knowledgeable users remain unsafe.
Conclusion
You may already know that Apple is a huge name in the online technological space that we’re thriving in. Many modern businesses are built around using modern technology, and a reasonable proportion of it comes from Apple. It’s not uncommon to hear about Apple facing competitors around the world. However, the competition has reached such gigantic scales that even hackers are trying to bring Apple down along with its subsidiary services.
When you surf the web, you will notice a lot of unconfirmed security reports and claims involving Apple and Apple Pay. Some of the reports even try to link Apple Pay with the exploitation of stolen identities. Still, the vulnerabilities of this Apple mobile payment system aren’t fully revealed as the experts keep working on them to make the system robust.