As my first official blog post I think it’s important to set the stage on why this blog exists and why I want to share my experiences. You see, I would classify myself as a gadget techie to some degree and will also confess I like to buy the coolest technology even if I hardly use any functionality. I consider myself a first mover but not the “wait in line 3 days for the new iPhone” kind of first mover. I do the responsible thing like preorder my phone and go to work kind of first mover. When I read about cool apps, I like to download and try them right away, especially those related to mobile payments.

Herein lies my problem with mobile payments. If you read the Introduction post you will know I live in Ohio, not exactly the mecca of mobile technology. I am always anxious to test the newest mobile payment apps and person to person (P2P) apps. As you can imagine from my Midwest sarcasm, not too many stores offer mobile payment capability and definitely none of my 40+ year old friends use technology to pay each other. Like any obstacles that you face, you find a way to persevere and now thanks to Apple Pay, I have new life as a payments junkie.

Up to this point, the closest mobile wallet I had was PayPal which was my favorite albeit my only option. I’ve used them as a consumer online, through eBay, and when feeling lazy, I will buy from ecommerce stores that offer PayPal as an option (even if it costs a couple bucks more). My philosophy as a consumer is this, make it easy and quicker for me to spend money and I will, regardless of the product. If you think about the rise of credit cards, it does the same thing. Ease of use=more spending.

So on September 9, 2014 my world changed when I anxiously awaited the official announcement that Apple entered into the mobile payments space. Sure the iPhone 6+ is awesome too and I purposely waited to upgrade from my 5 until payments was announced. So why does it matter to me so much living in an area that really doesn’t support all of this cool technology? Because I see where the future will be in a couple years.

Quick story: I remember vividly when my daughter was 6 years old and we were at the grocery store. The coolest app for me at the time was CardStar which allowed me to store my grocery store reward cards without forgetting them anymore. I casually, and in a cool kind of way, scanned my phone to activate the card. When reaching for my wallet to pay my daughter asked why I didn’t pay with my phone and all I could say is “someday honey, someday.” You see, even at 6 years old she knew something was missing.

All of the hype and discussion up to a few days ago when Apple Pay was officially launched was how PayPal and Apple Pay could coexist because Apple was only entering at the point of sale part of the transaction and how is Apple Pay any different than let’s say a Google Wallet. Here’s my take on Apple Pay and for the record this is my opinion as a consumer and with a little payments professional mix. One other disclosure is this opinion is not to be confused with “expert advice” or “investment tips”, strictly my opinion. If you have followed Apple or are “cultified” like I am, you know Apple doesn’t do anything of this magnitude to only affect the beginning of the transaction. Like their best creations they waited until they perfected the process and made it extremely intuitive. There is much more to come and be excited about from Apple here (like the Watch).

So as a Midwest guy on a mission to use Mobile Payments, I thank Apple for being the catalyst that was missing in the marketplace. With their 800+ million credit cards stored and their proven ability to dictate consumer behavior, this will be the platform that pushes mobile technology for payments into the future. It will be because of Apple and their clout that even a guy in Ohio will gain a ton of fun and excitement. Over the next few weeks I will set out to find places to use Apple Pay and PayPal sharing my experiences along the way.