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Apple Pay's easy set-up may be its security downfall as fraud reports rise

A payments analyst estimates that 6 per cent of Apple Pay purchases are completed with stolen credit cards

Published Tue, Mar 24, 2015 · 09:50 PM

    Washington

    WHEN Apple introduced its pay-by-smartphone feature last autumn, the company touted the simplicity of the set-up. All shoppers needed to do was wave their iPhones in front of a special scanner at the cash register - no need to fumble through pockets and purses for plastic cards or identification.

    But a sharp rise in reports of fraudulent Apple Pay transactions is now raising questions about the security of the first mobile payment system to find a measure of popular success. One payments analyst, Cherian Abraham, estimated that as many as 6 per cent of Apple Pay purchases are completed with stolen credit cards, or 60 times the rate of the old-fashioned plastic swipe.

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