Apple takes a cut for "tap to pay". No one wants to pay extra middlemen.
> For reasons I don't understand, the credit card makers have spent many years bringing the new chip cards to market, they include much higher technology than ever offered before, yet the payment process takes much longer.
It took years to roll out chip and pin because no one wanted to pay for the new terminals (another expensive cost pushed on to someone). It takes longer to approve a transaction because of the challenge response implemented to reduce fraud.
> I do understand the fees though. The credit card brands and banks have worked themselves, through years of diligent effort, into a business where they can impose a kind of "tax" of 3% on most of the retail economy across the entire US.
This is being driven down by legislation.
Everything has a cost, and someone has to pay it.