I think Apple is getting too much slack. They made it way to easy to add a new credit card.
Meanwhile, another credit card issuing bank which shall remain unnamed, did not go through the verification process when the card was added to Apple Pay.
At that time my colleague added her Wells Fargo card to Apple Pay and it went through without any notifications from the bank. She has been using this card with iTunes store though.
Another colleague added her F&A Federal Credit Union card and went through with little notifications.
First National Bank of Omaha notifies the email address on file that that the card is added to Apple Pay.
US Bank actually sends a letter via mail that the card was added to Apple Pay.
This could change by now.
No, you need to name the bank. Seriously.
The only place I've been able to use Apple Pay so far is Whole Foods and I'm pretty sure it takes a little bit longer than swiping my card. It also feels like showing off for some reason, like "look at what I can do".
It probably does, but swiping your card is about as insecure as a transaction can be. (Thieves love it though - they break into POS systems and there are tons of mag stripe details.)
However, as time goes by you'll have to enter a PIN (as we do in the UK) which is a bit slower - perhaps slower than Apple Pay.