Check out this demo of Apple Pay, courtesy of TechCrunch, or the one below from Engadget.

The demo makes it clear just how central Touch ID is to the Apple Pay experience. In many ways Apple Pay is Touch ID. And it is wicked cool. Touch ID acts as the facilitator — the payment doesn’t happen without a Touch ID authentication. In one action — pressing the Touch ID button — the consumer is both making a transaction and authenticating it. Think about that. Previously, NFC required an authentication separate from the payment action. No other mobile payments platform with as wide a reach as Apple Pay allows for one-step transaction and authentication. Yes, wicked cool.

Of course, as we have reported, the Touch ID triggers tokenization of a security key that green-lights the payment via near-field communication. In other words, it is not just that biometrics that is the security perimeter, but a second layer of tokenization that offers additional comfort. We like.