Why Retailers Can 'Remain Skeptical' About Apple Pay, But It's Inevitable That Payments Are Going To Change

Reuters came out with an article on Friday that highlighted how many retailers are sceptical about Apple Inc. AAPL’s mobile payment service, Apple Pay, even though the company has made big claims regarding it.

Re/Code’s Kara Swisher was on CNBC recently to weigh in on this.

It’s Inevitable That Payments Are Going To Change

“There is a struggle, there has been a struggle between retailers and Apple and all these companies over these payment systems,” Swisher said. “They are expensive and they do have to change registers and things like that, but it’s inevitable that payments are going to change and so the question is who are they going to really back.”

She continued, “And I think, if big chains did back any of these, they would catch on with consumers who are, I think, are more than willing to try these things and find them convenient when they use them.”

The Issues

On whether Apple Pay can lose out its lead if the mobile payment industry overall witnesses good growth, Swisher said, “I just think they have been pretty bold in how they are rolling it out and it’s a great product, lot better than some of the earlier products and once people use it they use it. And I think, the issues are very clear –security around this stuff, just like they were with credit cards and everything else. I think, the ease of use is important.”

“I think, the availability and sort of the non-difficulty of using it. I think that’s the one thing, it’s still easier to pull out a credit card for a lot of people and the question is can mobile operators and the retailers make it a seamless experience,” Swisher concluded.