AP

Apple Pay may be easy to use, but security is its biggest strength.

Unlike using a credit or debit card, Apple Pay doesn’t show merchants your payment information when you buy something.

Instead, it uses a digital account number called a “token” to tell the merchant you’re good for the purchase. That information is passed onto your cardholder, who charges you for what you’re buying.

Here’s why you should be happy about that: According to the most recent NBC/WSJ poll 45% of Americans said they had received a letter from a retailer or cardholder saying their payment information had been leaked.

That’s staggeringly high.

Big-box retailers like Target were hacked last year. The FBI has said more retailer hacks are coming.

Not all leaked credit card info gets used for fraudulent purchases. 

But you should care about keeping your credit card information private now more than ever. And that’s exactly what Apple Pay does.

Luckily, the list of cards you can use with Apple Pay is growing.

Apple claims it supports credit cards representing about 90% of credit card purchase volume in the US.

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