ApplePay seems to be doing things that others have basically done before, but doing it right in some important ways (credential on phone is for phone only, Apple doesn't get info on what you're buying), and I hope others follow suit.
Apple doesn't get info on what you're buying...
and I hope others follow suit.
What Apple are doing is removing the middleman, purely making this about transactions, not data. This means they're avoiding selling private information as a revenue stream.
This affects you, it causes a filter bubble http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_bubble and means you're effectively less free to make a truly informed decision.
So not sharing your private information by default, is fundamental to your freedom. That's why we should all care, and why this is a great decision by Apple.
"blah blah blah, and we don't store your financial information or transaction history. That's easy to say, but the pendulum has swung too far away from protecting our rights as consumers, so today we're doing more than that; we're announcing the Financial Information Security Organization and we're inviting companies to join us in making sure that all of our financial information is secure."
De-facto useless organizations like your FISO example with not enough players on board to start with are just lip service. Essentially you're arguing that Apple should be doing the governments job...
I doubt Apple could have dictated those terms to their financial partners.
Have you ever tried dictating terms to a bank?
De-facto useless organizations like your FISO example
I'm suggesting something along the lines of BrainTree's data portability organization (http://www.portabilitystandard.org/). Apple should be able to get a raft of players on board for something along those lines. If not, my original point stands: Apple was making a useless gesture.