CNBC's Jim Cramer said Wednesday he believes there may be more to Tim Cook's comments on data privacy than just expressing concern.
"[This may be] a pitch to Target and Wal-Mart, saying 'we will not take your data if you use Apple Pay,'" Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street." "This is Tim Cook not just taking aim at his competitors, but him saying [companies] should adopt Apple Pay."
Apple's chief executive said in a speech Monday he believes the use of private data for monetization by Silicon Valley companies is wrong, as it compromises such data.
"We don't think you should ever have to trade it for a service you think is free but actually comes at a very high cost. This is especially true now that we're storing data about our health, our finances and our homes on our devices," Cook said.
Apple launched its mobile payment platform last October.
Disclosure: Cramer's trust owned Apple and Target stock when this article was published.