Comment by ihsw | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ihsw | Hacker News Reader

Notably, the ApplePay API is entering general availability (GA)[1].

The following networks are supported[2]: amex, discover, interac, masterCard, privateLabel, or visa.

The following products are prohibited[3] as well as many other services:

* cigarettes or tobacco products;

* firearms, weapons, and ammunition;

* illegal drugs, non-legally prescribed controlled substances;

* items that create consumer safety risks;

* items that are intended to be used to engage in illegal activities;

* pornography;

* counterfeit or stolen goods; or

* collection of charitable donations;

A paired iPhone or Apple Watch device is required (re: the macOS Sierra app), as well as iOS 10 and macOS 10.12.

[1] https://developer.apple.com/reference/applepayjs

[2] https://developer.apple.com/reference/applepayjs/1916082-app...

[3] https://developer.apple.com/apple-pay/acceptable-use-guideli...

A pretty standard laundry list of no-go items and then...

> * collection of charitable donations;

!! This seems really different from all the other prohibitions. What's the idea behind that?

I imagine all the legal regulations surrounding charitable donations and tax breaks. If someone was fraudulently gathering money under the guise of charity, it would turn into a huge headache for them, even worse than normal fraud.

That's pure speculation on my part. Given that Tim Cook is personally very pro-charity (he put a matching contributions policy in place after assuming the CEO role), it seems likely that this will loosen up once Apple can put some certification policies in place.

> I imagine all the legal regulations surrounding charitable donations and tax breaks.

There aren't. You can collect donations on behalf of an organization just about anyway you please. Many of them have Apps for that. It's super fun on iOS because you have to kick out to Safari to complete donations so you don't have to pay the Apple tax. Not that I would know about any of that...

> * items that create consumer safety risks;

So buying fast food is prohibited!?

Eh... hard to get excited about this until Chrome and FF can somehow support Apple Pay.

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