Apple Pay debuts at some stores

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Apply Pay is now a real thing, meaning you can pay for a burger with the swipe of your phone.

Apple pay lets you buy things with a wave of the phone, if you have an iPhone 6. It's not just a novel idea, it's supposed to be more secure than using a credit card.

Apple Pay lets you buy things at participating registers with a wave of an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus and then a light press on the phone's Touch ID fingerprint reader to verify your identity.

Short-range wireless communication devices at the cash register allow the phones to transmit the payment information.

To use Apple Pay, you take a picture of your credit cards and add them to the iPhone's Passbook. You can also add credit cards through your iTunes account.

But the actual card numbers aren't stored on the phone or with Apple.

"Apple Pay creates 'dummy' account numbers for each transaction. So if a hacker gets to it, that number is useless. Also, no one ever gets a look at your name, your real card number or card security code," said Nikhil Hutheesing with Consumer Reports.

The big question, is it a safer way to pay?

"It could be. Payment security experts that we've spoken to say that compared to physical credit cards, mobile technology could be a safer option," Hutheesing said.

There are other mobile wallets that use Near Field Communication technology.

So far only 200,000 of the 15 million US retailers actually have the technology to allow customers pay using the phone.

Even if you don't have a fancy new iPhone, you will soon be able to use Near Field Technology to pay for things.

By the end of next year, merchants are supposed to update credit card readers that will accept new, more secured credit cards and phones that have NFC technology.