This is based on an alleged leaked internal memo from Panera Bread obtained by the folks at 9to5Mac. Panera Bread is one of the Apple Pay retailers that was announced at Apple’s September event, so safe to say they probably have an inkling as to when the service would be going live.
According to the leaked memo, “As you are aware, Panera is a featured partner with Apple in their announcement of the iPhone 6 and the new Apple Pay platform. Now, we are excited to share that Apple is very close to releasing Apple Pay and actually planning to launch on October 20th.”
In addition to Apple Pay, Apple is also expected to release the iOS 8.1 update which would enable the service as well as introduce a host of new features and improvements. It would also coincide with earlier rumors of a third week of October launch, but either way take it with a grain of salt for now, but we’ll definitely keep our eyes peeled for more info.