> In other news, Cook — signaling a thawing of relations with the government — said Apple Pay will later this year allow mobile payments from federal institutions, like national parks.
That is poor reporting. Apple is not in a position to "allow" anyone to use ApplePay. ApplePay is not handled on a "Let's ask Apple's permission to use ApplePay" it is merely the need to use NFC enabled pay points and not block ApplePay from being used. It is the banks and credit card systems that determine if they will use ApplePay. What was news was that the US Government credit cards would be using ApplePay. However, it is not any sign of such a "thawing."