[...When Apple introduced Apple Pay, it certainly brought mobile payments into the conversation in a way that it’s never been before, but it’s really just about payment...]

Apple did or industry press plus Apple Cult members did? What exactly, other than a slightly different flavor of tokenization, Apple did by introducing Apple Pay that has not been done before in payment industry?

Let me do some translation of this interview:

Peter: Apple has done a really good job of marketing their service, but merchants don't want it, at least for now.
Karen: But wait, what are they waiting for? Have they not seen the light?
Peter: No, they are just not seeing what problem is being solved. It's a solution in search of a problem. They have other issues to worry about... like taking care of their customers.
Karen: But wait, Apple Pay is a game changer... because.... because... because... it's Apple.
What else could they possibly want?
Peter: EMV is coming and with it, NFC. Perhaps Apple will be able to leverage that HW upgrade cycle to their advantage. But for now, merchants don't want to be bothered.
Karen: So you are saying merchants have no (current) use for Apple Pay because it's just about payments, and it does nothing to the top line?
Peter: Generally speaking merchants want more new customers, more visits from old customers, and bigger basket size. In other words more revenues. Apple Pay does nothing in this area.
Karen: Will NFC payments finally take of?
Peter: NFC is a comms technology, not payments. It's useful but so are others like BLE.
Karen: For Apple Pay to be successful, consumer need to want it, right?
Peter: Yes, we have seen some demand. For now from an elite group of people, with deep pocket.