Arvest to offer Apple Pay

Arvest Bank said it will offer Apple Pay to its customers joining the ranks of Bank of America, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo who have signed on to the mobile pay option unveiled by Apple on Sept. 9.

Apple Pay allows customers to load credit and debit cards from participating banks into an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, then simply hold the device near a contactless reader.

According to Apple, there are approximately 220,000 locations with contactless readers in the U.S. Partnering retailers include Subway, McDonalds, Petco, Walgreens, Staples and Whole Foods, among others. Customers also can use Apple Pay to make purchases online through online retailers with apps that integrate Apple Pay, such as Target, Starbucks, MLB.com and Open Table. Additional retailers are expected to begin accepting Apple Pay payments in the near future.

“Arvest Bank is excited to partner with Apple to offer this service to our customers,” said Jason Kincy, director of marketing for Arvest Bank. “We embrace mobile technology that provides added convenience for our customers, and Apple Pay will give them a quick, easy way to make everyday purchases using a mobile device. With this agreement in place, we are working on integrating this new payment method into our processing and we anticipate making it available to our customers in the near future.”

Apple’s newly introduced iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have Near Field Communication (NFC) chips that allow the device to communicate with other devices within a range of about one inch. They are currently the only iPhones able to make in-store “tap and pay” purchases.

Once cards are uploaded into the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, Apple will verify the card with the customer’s bank for security and validity. A virtual “token” link between that card and that specific phone is stored in the Passbook app. The “token” number will not work on any other device or phone.