Skip to main content

Apple Pay already works abroad on supported NFC terminals w/ US-based cards

Following yesterday’s launch of Apple Pay through participating card issuers, banks and retailers in the US, some users have discovered that the payment service is also already being accepted through some retailers abroad. 9to5Mac readers report using Apple Pay loaded with a US-based credit card at retailers in Australia and Canada…

Reader Beau Giles reports, Apple Pay works anywhere there’s existing PayPass or payWave terminals – and in Australia we’ve got plenty of them…While Apple restricts cards to US issued cards, they do work with Apple Pay just fine elsewhere.”

Beau notes that Apple Pay appears to be based on the region set on a user’s device and is not necessarily tied to an iTunes account (although it does offer the option to use a card on file through an Apple ID). Users abroad can make Apple Pay settings appear by changing their region to United States in Settings>General>Language & Region>Region.

Apple Pay doesn’t yet support Australian cards issued by local banks, but reportedly works with supported US-based cards through MasterCard’s PayPass, Visa’s payWave or American Express’ ExpressPay terminals. It’s still unclear exactly what is required for a retailer to support the service (for instance a geo-location parameter could be enforced by Apple), and whether or not Apple Pay will work with all NFC payment terminals from supported partners, but it appears at least some terminals are already up and running with US-based cards abroad. That’s a good sign for those that plan to use Apple Pay abroad even before support is rolled out internationally.

Another reader in Canada sent over the video below showing Apple Pay working with NFC-equipped vending machine in Canada:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9PRYphuCLc&feature=youtu.be&a]

We’ve reached out to Visa, Mastercard, and American Express for more information on supported terminals abroad.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. Computer_Whiz123 - 9 years ago

    Was this intended?

    • tjbenton - 9 years ago

      Well yeah, it’s the nature of the system.

      Visa and mastercard’s payment systems are probably the only thing on the planet that should be the same anywhere.

      I suspect card verification is what’s holding this up for ROW. Not to mention the sheer amount of people who could potentially use the service. Would be crazy to switch it on in Europe first as there are MILLIONS of terminals and customers.

      NFC payments in the us are relatively scarce so it’s the ideal soft launch.

      • Chris Sanders - 9 years ago

        I was thinking the same thing. Europe has been doing somewhat NFC for awhile now for small transactions.

      • Computer_Whiz123 - 9 years ago

        Oh, okay…

  2. Steve Grenier - 9 years ago

    This just further explains the delay for an international rollout. It’s about deals with the banks more than technology with merchants. Which is a pity. Hopefully more come on board soon.

    • taoprophet420 - 9 years ago

      There is no new technology here, just implementation. The token system is from Visa, the NFC is standard and the secure unclave on the iPhone works just the same as the chip in an EMV card. Only thing Visa And MasterCard had to do was update the token codes.

  3. I’ll say it again, this just shows the short sighted view of Apple being that the US is far more important than anywhere else as far as they are concerned… Half hearted roll outs to a country that has very little support already, against whole continents that already support it, and would already be making them money had they already negotiated the terms… I mean it is not like they couldn’t negotiate for the biggest card providers in the EU is it, and with terminals already common place over here, it would make sense… Lets sell phones with all these new features that you can’t use cos we got it wrong… Bad thinking Apple… I know lots, and i mean dozens that simply did not upgrade because the only thing worth having is Apple Pay, and that is a non starter…!!!

    • chrisl84 - 9 years ago

      Breaking News: Kevin Hancox was involved in Apple Pay negotiations so he knows all the reasons behind why a Billion dollar corp runs they way it runs.

    • tjbenton - 9 years ago

      It isn’t. It’s actually a very clever move.

      You would not want this system to be anything other than perfect in a mature NFC payment market such as Europe.

      • Jurgis Ŝalna - 9 years ago

        I somehow suspect we wont see Apple Pay in Europe for a long time.
        Barclays is not even on the list of Apple supported banks.
        Barclays developed their own contactless wristband.
        Every single credit card issued in UK is now contactless.
        Majority of shops had contactless readers for a long time now.

        Why would a well established bank should suddenly start sharing their profit with a foreign business?

      • The point being, MATURE, it already works, just negotiations that stop it working…! Yet they negotiate with home soil when most places don’t have the hardware… No hardware needed, no issues with it working other than the software in the phone, and yet they miss the bassinets roll out they could of had… To me it makes no difference, i am just saying, they always concentrate on home soil, yet charge everyone else a premium on hardware and then make them wait…

    • Chris Sanders - 9 years ago

      You don’t understand how software works do you? You don’t roll out to everyone at once. Especially for a system of this sort. You roll out to a relatively small group and get feedback and make improvements. With the overly litigious nature of the EU and the over controlling nature of Asia it’s no shock the US has immediate support.

      • taoprophet420 - 9 years ago

        Is no software, just the token identifiers being issued by Visa. Apple Pay has no new technology or software.

    • rob nienburg (@robogobo) - 9 years ago

      Yeah, how dare an American company prioritize the US.

  4. taoprophet420 - 9 years ago

    Cards terminals got a boost with Obama saying only government issued credit cards have to be chip and pin enabled to start the year and giving money to the financial companies to upgrade terminal. This means more places will have EMV terminals with NFC included.

    There is no reason for the delay internationally except for deals between banks for the percentage Apple gets. There is no technical reason it’s not available worldwide. Just aapple trying to get a few pennies from your transactions. Which shoots Tim in the foot saying he doesn’t want to make money off the service.

    • rob nienburg (@robogobo) - 9 years ago

      Well, he doesn’t want to lose money either. It’s going to take a lot of man hours to get this up and running. Maybe later it will be fee-free.

    • Alfa Jor - 9 years ago

      EMV (EuroPay MasterCard Visa) technology is not the same as RFID (radio frequency identification) technology. RFID is also known as PayWave, Blink, PayPass, or touch-and-pay is a contactless payment method that works with Apple Pay too. EMV will not work with this technology.

      It would be nice for EMV and RFID to work in tandem though.

      • taoprophet420 - 9 years ago

        I know this, but most the newer EMV card readers have NFC or it would be cost effective to upgrade to pod terminals that have both technologies.

  5. Alfa Jor - 9 years ago

    Canada? Not so very international really. But it IS considered international for credit card companies like Chase who WILL charge you a 3% international fee if you use their Freedom card as shown in this video. So to avoid that transaction fee, use Chase’s Sapphire or the United Airlines MileagePlus cards. Other cards such as the Delta Skymiles American Express card and Capital One cards don’t charge you international transaction fees either.

  6. ozecho - 9 years ago

    I’m in Australia and can confirm, setting up Apple Pay with my USA based chase credit card on my iPhone 6 works perfectly at any of the paypass terminals here, which is basically everywhere!

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.