WESTSIDE -- Arvest Bank has reached an agreement with Apple Inc., which will make the Apple Pay mobile wallet system available to Arvest customers, according to an Arvest release.
Arvest is one of the first regional banks to announce its participation in the mobile payment system first introduced 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, McDonald's, Petco, Walgreens, Staples and Whole Foods, among others.
Customers also can use Apple Pay to make purchases online through retailers with apps that integrate Apple Pay.
Apple's newly introduced iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have near field communication, or 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.
General News on 10/22/2014