Leaked Walgreen memo points to October 18th Apple Pay launch

Hints cropped up last week that Apple Pay might make its debut on October 20, but a newly discovered memo indicates that it may launch even sooner. In a memo revealed in a report from MacRumors, managers at Walgreens are instructed to prepare for the launch of Apple Pay on October 18. “In preparation for the launch of Apple Pay on October 18, we would like you to cover the following material,” reads the memo. “Walgreens will be one of the participating retailers and we want to make sure that all your team members are prepared.”

An internal memo addressed to Walgreens employees designed to prepare them for the upcoming launch of Apple Pay suggests that Apple’s new payments service might be going live on Saturday, October 18. A Saturday launch is unusual, but it could make sense as Apple Pay is designed for in-store shopping and a weekend debut would give customers time to try the service. It is, however, also possible that Apple Pay will go live shortly before the October 18 date, following the company’s Thursday, October 16 iPad event, with support coming to Walgreens a day or two later. At its October 16 event, Apple is expected to debut a new iPad Air, Retina iMacs, and possibly a new Retina iPad mini. The event, which will also likely see Apple previewing OS X Yosemite one last time before its public debut, would also be an opportune time to divulge more information about Apple Pay and possibly even launch the payments service.