A couple of years ago, with the holiday season rapidly approaching, my mother generously asked me if there was anything I wanted for Christmas. As it turned out my wife and I were just getting into board games as a hobby, but not wanting my mom to bother wandering into a Manhattan board game specialty store I just told her I'd give her the names of a few games we were interested in that I knew she could find on Amazon. She surprised me with her response - that she wasn't going to be able to get me those games because she didn't feel comfortable shopping online.
My mother is the first to admit that she's not the most tech-savvy person around, but I was still shocked that she wouldn't order anything from Amazon, and further shocked that she had never bought anything online. When I asked why, both she and my father explained that they simply didn't trust the technology and that it made them uncomfortable.
I guess the reason I found it difficult to accept is because online transactions have represented the majority of my expenses for years. So the idea that people who are otherwise modern, educated, competent folks wouldn't trust something as universal as online shopping - their instinctive distrust - seemed downright silly to me as someone who is, by upbringing and profession, constantly exposed to the world of social media, online commerce, and internet connectivity.
Which is why I had to stop and scold myself when I saw Apple Pay and immediately shook my head in disapproval.
Sure, there are security features in place. Sure, your credit info isn't technically stored on the device. And sure, what is locally kept is locked behind a biometric defense system, can be disabled remotely, and probably has a dozen other security protocols I'm unaware of. Still, my gut reaction to the idea of using my phone to pay for things was instantaneous distrust - and that's ridiculous.
Whether you're an adherent to the Cult of Apple, just think their products are cool, or even if you have no intention of buying Apple's newest miracle device, the fact is that this idea of a unified way of managing your credit, integrated into your mobile electronics, is a very likely technological progression. Of course security will always be an issue, but is there really any difference in using my computer to order something from an online retailer via my credit card or tapping my iPhone against a sensor to initiate the exact same kind of transaction in person? The bottom line is that (semantics aside) there isn't, and I doubt very much that this feature will remain exclusive to the iPhone for long.
I also doubt I'm the only one who looked at Apple Pay and scoffed. But I think that, like my parents not trusting the idea of internet commerce, it's just a product of technological inertia. No, I'm not one of the folks who ran out to get an iPhone 6 Plus on day 1, but I won't be one of the naysayers who resists the direction this new tech is taking us simply because 'it's different and that makes me nervous.'
