Apple Pay is coming October 18, 2014

If you’re one of the many who purchased the latest devices from Apple, brace yourself as you can now start paying for purchases with just a tap of your mobile device.

Apple Pay, the much talked about new feature of the tech giant’s latest device is set to launch for retailers on Saturday, October 18.

Among the retailers that have pledged support for this new form of payment include Walgreen’s, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, McDonald’s, Staples and Whole Foods. So, if you shop or purchase any items from any of these stores, you can just tap your way for payment.

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With Apple Pay, all users need to do with their iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is use the fingerprint scanner on their device then hold it up to the register. And that would be it – you’ve made a purchase.

Other than paying at a retail store, Apple Pay also allows users to pay for items they found through an app. All they need to do is tap on “Pay with Apple Pay” then put their finger on the fingerprint reader and the purchase is made.

All the charges will go straight to the debit or credit card that was used to set up with Apple.

The way Apple Pay works is that it sends payment information through short-range radio waves. This message will come from the special chip located inside the iPhone 6 and into the register.

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This type of technology is called NFC which is short for Near Field Communication. And interestingly, this feature has been available in Android phones for quite some time. However, Apple’s use of the technology is limited to Apple Pay – for now – while NFC on Android phones can do things like share data with friends.

NFC technology is already available and works with Google Wallet, Softcard and PayPal, among others. There are about 220,000 retail stores that support NFC at the register.