Apple Pay to launch Monday

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Apple's new mobile payment system will launch on Monday, CEO Tim Cook said Thursday.

"We think it is going to be profound. It's going to change the way we pay for things," said Cook.

The payment system is preloaded in Apple's new phones.

"Everything you need is built into iPhone 6," he said.

Credit cards and banks supporting the system include American Express, Mastercard and Visa, Citi, Bank of America and PNC. Among retailers on board: Macys, Bloomingdales, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Whole Foods, Disney stores and Staples. Restaurants supporting Apple Pay include Subway and Panera Bread.

Apple touts its proprietary system as safe and secure because it creates one-time payment numbers for purchases, rather than transmitting credit card numbers and security codes.

"It's easy, it's secure and yes, it's a private way to pay for things," said Cook.

Apple is not the only fruit on the tree, however. There are multiple entities vying to be first into consumers' hearts.

"The rule is, 'The one who enrolls is the one who controls,'" is how Richard Crone of Crone Consulting, an electronics payment consulting group, put it.

The largest could be MCX, which stands for Merchant Customer Exchange. It is a collaboration between multiple large U.S. retail companies, including Walmart, Target, Lowe's, Kmart, Shell and others.

Its brand is called CurrentC and is scheduled to go live next year.

The advantage of CurrentC is exactly the opposite of Apple—it lets the seller know who the buyer is.

"You'll be able to get coupons and other discounts, because it knows who the customer is," said Crone.

Other potential mobile payment platforms vying for market share in this space include Google Wallet and PayPal.

"Just as new products and services from Apple reshaped other industries, Apple Pay will reshape payments," said Denée Carrington, an analyst with Forrester.

However there are misses. Apple Pay lacks the ability to scale in-person payments and the ability for merchants to gain insight into customer purchases, which needs to be addressed, she said.

U.S. mobile proximity payments totaled $745.96 million in 2012 and increased 114.5% to $1.6 billion in 2013, eMarketer estimates. About 8% of U.S. smartphone users (11.2 million) made mobile payments last year, up 57% from 2012.

Saturday's launch will probably be "a little chaotic as the first adopters are going to buy things just to buy things. I'd expect longer lines just about everywhere," said Robert Siciliano, a security expert with Hotspot Shield

Consumers should be extra careful as they work out how to use the new payment system. As with anything new, some people will try to use unfamiliarity with the technology as a chance to scam the unsuspecting.

"There is a solid chance that someone, somewhere, is going to get their data or even their phone stolen as a result of handing their phone to someone that they shouldn't," Siciliano said.