“As far back as I can remember, I knew I was different,” says Alexander Smalls. Growing up in a Gullah Geechee household in Spartanburg, North Carolina, the chef says he recognized the implication of those differences—in appearance, history, and cuisine. “I discovered early that my friends did not eat any of the foods that I ate. My foods were more akin to West Africa, you know, and very much pronounced in that way,” he says. It wan't until he moved to New York as an adult, that he assimilated the value of that diasporic connective tissue. “Food was a big part of cultural expression and identity of the African diaspora,” he says.
From car rentals to digital IDs: Apple Pay chief breaks down decade of mobile wallet changes
17.10.2024 - 14:09 / thepointsguy.com
What do the New York City subway and the tapas snack box on a United flight have in common? The primary way to pay for both is with a mobile wallet. (Unless, of course, you're a top-tier elite member entitled to free onboard snacks when flying on United).
These days, mobile wallets are integral to the travel experience. From the airport to the plane to the hotel, more people are tapping their phones to pay than ever before.
It wasn't that long ago when paying for the subway required lining up to purchase a transit card with cash. But things have changed dramatically as the reach of mobile wallets has expanded dramatically in recent years.
Now, one of the most ubiquitous mobile wallet brands is set for a major milestone. It's been 10 years since Apple launched its Apple Pay mobile wallet service, which Apple says is now used by hundreds of millions of consumers across 78 countries and territories.
A decade later, Apple Pay — along with competing services that have come to market since the 2010s — have transformed the travel experience for many travelers, and the pace of innovation in the digital wallet space seems to only be getting faster.
With an industry-wide race to replace the physical wallet, tech companies continue to invest in their mobile wallet teams. For its part, Apple offered TPG an exclusive interview with Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, who helped travelers get a sense of the changes that are transforming the space.
When Apple Pay first launched in October 2014, it faced an uphill battle convincing users and credit card issuers of the benefits of a digital wallet — likely mirroring challenges faced by its competitors during those first years of the services.
"The first challenge always when you introduce a new consumer service is helping consumers understand the benefits ... and so we spent a lot of time in partnership actually with the banks and the [card] networks providing that education," Bailey told TPG.
In addition to the education component, Bailey said Apple also needed to convince merchants to start accepting contactless payments. In fact, when Apple Pay launched, only 3% of merchants in the U.S. supported wireless payment technology, she said.
Between the necessary consumer education and the need for merchants to adopt new contactless technology, Apple Pay wasn't necessarily an instant hit. That only began to change, Bailey said, as Apple "worked really hard on getting a great customer experience" — helping lay a foundation for the service to succeed as users become more comfortable with it.
Ten years later, Apple Pay now has "more than 90% coverage, maybe 95% coverage on the acceptance side [in the U.S.]," Bailey said.
With so many merchants
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