Apple Pay has been out for a little more than a week now. Thus far, a number of merchants have adopted the service, with varying results. And while user adoption will take time, there is a tremendous amount of hype surrounding Apple Pay as it enters its second week of existence. This is consistent with most Apple product and service launches, and the belief shared among many is that the company that revolutionized digital music, the cell phone and the computer tablet will do so again with payments. However, that still remains to be seen and, before Apple Pay can truly take off, a number of questions must be answered. For example, how will it work with EMV?

The launch of Apple Pay wasn't the only major industry event to take place in October. Earlier this month, Bank of America rolled out its EMV program, which will impact both its consumer and small business debit cards. The question is, how quickly will retailers adopt the necessary technology? With the launch of Apple Pay, it may happen faster than you might think. Because EMV cards can be used by tapping NFC-enabled machines, the challenge is to find retailers that use this technology. With the launch of Apple Pay — which only uses NFC — there's a better chance that more retailers will make the necessary changes to their payment processing tools to accept EMV payments.

Meanwhile, customers are anxious to utilize these new payment methods at their favorite retailers. Payments expert Catherine Johnston spoke with Bank Info Security about this. Although there may be variances in regards to the nuances of specific POS systems, Johnston ultimately believes customers are ready for a more secure form of payment.

"Customers are more comfortable with this change than we assume," she says. "You are going to have differences at the point of sale, and it does mean that cashiers will have to guide consumers through the transactions. But people will get used to it."