Integrated Payments and Why Apple Pay Isn't the Be-All and End-All

Moreover, NFC hasn't really worked anywhere to date. Not with Google Wallet, not with the haplessly named Isis Wallet (now called Softcard). None of these have achieved adoption at any real scale. On the other hand, there are others that have really worked, like Starbucks, LevelUp and Uber. Starbucks’ mobile app isn't NFC and doesn't even involve much technology. All the app does is create a barcode and have a laser scanner near the register scan it. LevelUp is QR code-based. The key point is that they're all tied to loyalty programs, and payment is central to the user experience.