Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is planning to use its influence and its Apple Pay mobile payment service to push the world towards a cashless economy.
Apple CEO, Tim Cook, is convinced that future economies will rely on digital money rather than paper money. Cook wants Apple to be at the forefront of that change. The company is well positioned for such a shift, courtesy of its mobile payments service, Apple Pay, which has been steadily expanding into more and more global regions.
“We would like to be a catalyst for taking cash out of the system. We don’t think the consumer particularly likes cash,” said Tim Cook during an interview with Japanese News house, Nikkei.
Apple launched Apple Pay in 2014. The digital payment service allows users to link their debit and credit cards with the service so that they can make payment with their iPhones through a simple swipe at the terminal. This means users do not have to use their credit cards and debit cards but can instead use their phones to make payments. A few other similar mobile payments also exist and have been competing with Apple Pay. Some of them include Samsung Pay from Samsung Electronic (OTCMKTS:SSNLF) and Google Pay from Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
Mobile payments are considered to be safer than conventional card payments. This is because security measures can include fingerprint scans rather than the pin security system. Cook did not reveal the exact details of how his company plans to kill off paper money, although its most likely through having a global presence with Apple Pay. Analysts believe that it would take a long time before paper cash becomes a thing of the past. Cook also told Nikkei that his company will open a research center in Yokohama, Japan that will focus on artificial intelligence.
Apple stock closed the latest trading session at $806.84.