Apple's first announcement during its event today was a definitive release date for its Apple Pay cardless payment system. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users will be able to pay for purchases using only their phone at participating retailers staring Monday.
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Based on some leaked in-house employee training documents for companies like Walgreens and McDonalds, many of Apple's partners should be ready to start accepting payments once the system finally launches. Getting up the NFC support and infrastructure across larger corporations probably won't happen instantaneously, but the process has started for a couple of companies.
Apple Pay functionality will come with the release of iOS 8.1, a free mobile operating system update that will be available on Monday.
Back at Apple Pay's announcement, Apple revealed several participating companies who had committed to providing support for Apple Pay. These companies include retail giants like Disney, who will be rolling out Apple Pay support throughout its stores and parks, McDonalds, who will allow drive-thru customers to pay using their phones, and Walgreens.
Using Apple Pay, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users can lock their credit card information using the phone's Touch ID and access it whenever they need to make a purchase. By pressing the Touch ID button and holding up their phone to the seller's NFC receiver, a user can securely charge a purchase to their credit card just with their phone.
Apple Pay can also be used to make online purchases through participating apps and websites.
