Apple Pay is now live in Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia... More
Apple Pay goes live in 13 new European countries
Apple Pay
Apple Pay to go live in Greece, Portugal and Slovakia this week
Apple Pay rolls out to Greece, Portugal, Slovakia on Wednesday — Apple Insider — “Following the expansion of Apple Pay into the Netherlands on 11 June, reports indicate banks in three more countries in Europe are adding support to Apple Pay at the same time in the coming week. Believed to take place on June 26, the launches will occur covering Slovakia with multiple banks, as well as Greece and Portugal.”
Apple Pay to add support for Octopus transit cards in Hong Kong
Apple Pay Octopus to launch in Hong Kong with iOS 13 — Ata Distance — “Octopus on Apple Pay will launch in Hong Kong with iOS 13. The iOS 13 beta contains specific Apple Pay Octopus references along with Apple Pay server side references which indicate that OCL is likely field testing with the latest beta.”
HonkMobile launches app-free Apple Pay NFC payments
Parking payments specialist HonkMobile has unveiled a ‘virtual parking meter’ that uses Apple Pay’s new support for NFC tags to let iPhone users tap an NFC sticker to quickly make a payment via Apple Pay — without first needing to download an app or register for a service... More
ETA issues US mobile payments market status report
The state of mobile payments in 2019 — Electronic Transactions Association — “In 2018, 55 million people in the US used their smartphone to make a payment at a physical point of sale, whether by loading money into a closed-loop mobile app (like the Starbucks app) or by loading a credit or debit card into an open-loop mobile wallet (like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay) and using it to pay at the point of sale. These 55 million users account for about 20% of the U.S. population aged 15 and over, and just over 25% of US smartphone users.”
Decathlon to introduce scan and go to all stores in the Netherlands
Customers at sporting goods retailer Decathlon in the Netherlands who don’t want to line up at a physical checkout can now simply scan their goods, pay and leave — without setting off alarms — thanks to the introduction of a mobile self-checkout solution... More
Banks balk at Apple Card business
A Goldman Sachs rival pulled out of the Apple Card deal on fears it will be a money loser — CNBC — “‘Dude, if that portfolio ever makes money, I’m buying you a beer,’ an employee at the card department of a big bank texted a Goldman staffer… Citigroup was in advanced negotiations with Apple for the card but pulled out amid doubts that it could earn an acceptable profit on the partnership, according to people with knowledge of the talks… Goldman is ‘thrilled’ to be partnering with Apple, according to Andrew Williams, a spokesman for the New York-based bank.”
Monese teases Apple Pay launches in 13 European countries
Apple Pay will soon launch in 16 more countries, including Bulgaria and Croatia — MacRumors — “Mobile banking service Monese has revealed that Apple Pay is also coming soon to its cardholders in Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia… Apple Pay is also nearing launch in the Netherlands, Hungary, and Luxembourg for a total of 16 upcoming countries.”
National Australia Bank goes live with Apple Pay
Australian ‘big four’ bank NAB adopts Apple Pay, Westpac lone holdout — AppleInsider — “National Australia Bank (NAB) on Monday announced immediate support for Apple Pay, becoming the third of Australia’s ‘big four’ banks to integrate with Apple’s payments platform after a failed boycott… With NAB on board, Westpac becomes the last of Australia’s ‘big four’ banks to resist Apple Pay.”
Apple Pay goes live in Luxembourg and Hungary
Apple Pay launches in Hungary and Luxembourg — MacRumors — “In Luxembourg, BGL BNP Paribas is currently the sole bank supporting Apple’s digital wallet, while OTP Bank is supporting Apple Pay in Hungary… The expansion within Europe follows the launch of Apple Pay in Iceland earlier this month. Elsewhere, regional banks in The Netherlands and Portugal have teased that Apple’s contactless payment system is ‘coming soon’.”
Privatbank to use customised ‘card avatars’ to drive mobile payments adoption
Ukraine’s PrivatBank has become the first in the world to provide customers with a way to customise the design of the cards they add to Google Pay or Apple Pay — beginning with a set of X-Men: Dark Phoenix original designs made available via a licensing deal with movie studio 20th Century Fox... More
Apple Pay to go live in Hungary and Luxembourg?
Apple Pay nearing launch in Hungary and Luxembourg — MacRumors — “MacRumors has spotted the usual server-side changes that Apple makes shortly before expanding Apple Pay to new regions — in this case, Hungary and Luxembourg. The service could launch in both countries within days.”
Apple Pay goes live in Iceland
Apple Pay launches in Iceland with support from Arion Banki and Landsbankinn — AppleInsider — “The two banks announced support for Apple Pay on Wednesday via their official websites and Twitter. Available straight away, the added support now means customers that have accounts with either of the banks are able to add their card to the Wallet app, and use it to make contactless payments using Apple Pay for the iPhone and the Apple Watch.”
Apple Pay boss reveals US merchants’ plans to use NFC tags for payments and loyalty sign-up
Dairy Queen, Bonobos, Panera Bread, Yogurtland, Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, Dave & Buster’s, Caribou Coffee plus Bird and PayByPhone are all working on projects that use Apple’s Core NFC tag reading capabilities to make it easier for consumers to sign up for their services, Apple Pay boss Jennifer Bailey has revealed... More
Apple to expand Express Transit payments to open loop cards?
iOS 12.3 to bring EMV Express Transit support to Apple Pay — Tap Down Under — “New strings discovered within the pass.json files of Apple Pay card files make mention of new ‘Transit Network Identifiers’ options, as well as new passUpgrades/open loop options.”
Apple Pay to launch in the Netherlands ‘soon’
ING brings Apple Pay to the Netherlands — ING (translation) — “ING will soon be bringing Apple Pay to the Netherlands… More information about the introduction of Apple Pay in the Netherlands will be announced by ING shortly.”
Standard Chartered adds instant credit card and loan issuance to its Singapore banking app
Standard Chartered has become the first bank in Singapore to offer customers the ability to use its mobile banking app to apply for loans and credit cards — and, if approved, have a digital version of their new credit card instantly provisioned to their Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay digital wallet so they can make payments... More
Apple Pay goes live in Austria
Apple Pay officially launches in Austria — MacRumors — “Apple’s mobile payment system is now supported by the country’s largest bank Erste Bank und Sparkasse, as well as German-based mobile bank N26… Apple says additional Apple Pay partners ‘coming soon’ to Austria will include Bank Austria, Boon, Edenred, Revolut and VimPay.”
Decathlon opens RFID-enabled store in the US
Sports retailer Decathlon has incorporated RFID tags into products at its first physical store in the US... More
Singapore extends contactless transit payments with value-added services
Travellers in Singapore can now use their contactless Mastercard debit or credit card as a travel ticket on trains and buses while also improving the user experience through travel information sent directly to a smartphone app... More