Apple Pay has been around for a while, but in general, the places I shopped were slow to adopt it. It take a while for a credit card processor to get on board with NFC payments, and then get compatible devices rolled out to all of their endpoints. I did load it up my iPhone wallet with a couple of credit cards to have on standby for when I found a store that accepted it, but it rarely got used.

However, over the past 9 months, more and more places are displaying the Apple and Android Pay logos. I’ve started to find places to use it more and more, including the new vending machines that they installed at work. I simply tap my phone to the reader, after selecting the proper card from my virtual wallet, and boom, my transaction is complete.

One of the things that I’ve discovered that I really like, is the fact that my wallet now keeps a record of my transactions, and it makes it really easy to see if someone has stolen my credit card. I’m notified of transactions almost instantly, and although some people might find it annoying to get a notification right after paying, I actually like the validation that my payment went through for the amount I intended.

I’m curious to see how many other places will start accepting NFC payments in the future. I think it’s a really cool feature, and a great way to keep track of our new digital currency.