Apple Pay may soon come to Target stores

Target CEO Brian Cornell speaking at the second annual Code Conference said he would like to offer customers the option of Apple Pay but first wants to introduce secure chip-and-PIN card payment system at all Target outlets.

"I'd love to have Apple Pay today," he told re/code. "Once we finish, we'll be open-minded about supporting other payment systems".

Cornell said he met Apple CEO Tim Cook and has talked about introducing Apple Pay but only after the secure payment system is installed at Target stores. At this later stage of carrying out the installation of the system, however, he said he does not want to distract the team rolling out the new system to Target stores by adding new players to the payment systems.

Target stores will accept all types of payments, Cornell said, but at the moment the priority is to introduce chip-and-PIN payment system at all our stores.

After the 2013 credit card hacking - said to be the largest hack of all-time in US history - Cornell is determined to provide the latest and reliable security measures at Target stores. The security breach had cost Target an estimated $162 million. Immediately after the incident Cornell was hired as the CEO of the company.

The new payment system uses technology that stores credit card's data in an embedded computer chip rather than a magnetic stripe. In European the chip-and-PIN technology is widely used at stores as it provides better security to customers who use credit cards for their shopping.

Cornell calls Amazon one of many competitors of Target. But Target's main rival in the e-commerce space is Amazon. And Target is trying to cover lost ground in e-commerce, while keeping a close eye at Walmart.

Currently, Apple Pay is offered at Whole Foods, Walgreens and more. Best Buy announced in April that it would offer Apple Pay in its U.S. retail stores later this year.