U.S. President Barack Obama has backed Apple Pay – Cupertino's new payment system – after iThing chief Tim Cook was given a 15-minute-long ad spot at the White House on Friday.

That endorsement means that the government will accept Apple Pay transactions for citzens who have federal-payment cards and are, for example, claiming social security benefits.

The White House said in a brief note on its cybersecurity and consumer protection fact sheet:

Apple, Visa, MasterCard, Comerica Bank and U.S. Bank are committed to working together to make Apple Pay, a tokenized, encrypted service, available for users of federal payment cards, including DirectExpress and GSA SmartPay cards.

It comes after the Obama administration signed an executive order in October last year, promising to beef up consumer financial protection with the launch of the Buy Secure Initiative.

Apple revealed details of its NFC-stuffed payment system in September 2014. At the time, Cook promised his company's bonk-to-pay service would simplify the way people paid for goods.

But it had a rocky launch: some Apple Pay users reported that they were getting charged twice for the same purchases. And – within a week of those gripes – two of the biggest Stateside drugstore chains, CVS and Rite Aid, had yanked support for Apple Pay.

It's been claimed that Apple pockets 15 cents of every $100 purchase made via its payment system. ®