>Otherwise, what's the point?

Convenience.

Credit cards are based on a broken "pull money without permission" model.

The only way to get good security is to start with a system that doesn't suck; specifically, one that involves "pushing" money to an account rather than "pulling" it from an account.

Bitcoin got this right. So did the various non-CC services like Paypal and Venmo.

It will, because Apple Pay uses a EMV-based protocol (also known as chip-and-PIN) over NFC. The actual card secrets that can be used to authorise payments never leave the iPhone's secure element.

Additionally, because you authorise the exact amount on the iPhone, hacking the terminal to have it charge a higher amount than shown on its display is impossible.

My understanding is that any info retained by Home Depot or another retailer after you use Apple Pay could not be re-used elsewhere.

As someone who has to cancel his cards once or twice a year due to unauthorized purchases, this sounds great! (I could go back to cash, hmmm......)

> Otherwise, what's the point?

Funneling more cash to Apple?