Apple Pay: What to Expect at the Checkout Counter

— -- With the roll out of Apple Pay today, the checkout experience is expected to evolve at some of the biggest retailers and restaurants in the United States.

Apple's mobile payment product, which works on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus for online and brick and mortar store purchases, could very well be a credit card killer, according to industry observers.

There's no need to reach for a wallet, swipe a credit card or wait for a cashier to make change. Even if you're not set up on a device equipped with Apple Pay, but others queuing in front of you are, it's possible the simplicity of the transaction could make waiting in line faster for everyone.

What to Expect When You Step Up to the Checkout Counter

Checkout counters in more than 220,000 stores, including Whole Foods, McDonald's and Chevron, will be equipped with contactless readers.

All users have to do is position their iPhone near one of the readers at a store, hold their finger on their Touch ID and they're good to go. The simple, swift checkout motion is made easy due to the the Near Field Communication antenna in the iPhone 6, which connects with the payment point to complete the transaction.

A vibration and a beep will let users know that checkout was successful. There's no need to do anything else.

Behind the Scenes

With Apple Pay, neither Apple nor merchants see or store any of your private information.

Instead, users take a photo of their credit card and add it to their phone's Passbook, where it is assigned an unique device account number, encrypted and stored in the phone's Secure Element Chip.

When it's time to check out, the device account number and a dynamic security code are used to complete the transaction. Apple will never know what you purchased, the company said, and you'll still get rewards points on the credit cards you use.

Online Purchases

The two new iPads unveiled on Thursday -- the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3 -- also come equipped for making online Apple Pay purchases.

Users can add their debit or credit card information from their iTunes account or snap a photo with the tablet's camera. Select Apple Pay when it's time to check out, lightly touch the home button with your finger and the transaction is complete. Entering shipping or billing information -- perhaps the most tedious part of online shopping -- is no longer necessary.

Apple Pay works in a slew of popular apps, including Target, Uber and OpenTable.