Apple Pay

Apple is reportedly in talks with partners to launch its own person-to-person payments service, extending the breadth of Apple Pay and closely competing with services like Venmo or Square Cash. Recode reports that the company wants to announce the payments-between-friends feature later this year — although plans can change.

Recode says that Apple has also held talks with Visa about the possibility of creating virtual Apple prepaid debit cards. This would allow users to spend the money they get from the new peer-to-peer payments service instantly without having to wait for the money to clear in their bank account.

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Apple and the World Wildlife Fund are partnering for a special Earth Day promotion at the Apple Store. Starting today, Apple will donate $1 to the World Wildlife Fund for every purchase made in stores with Apple Pay.

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In a move seemingly intended to keep physical payment cards relevant in the age of Apple Pay, Mastercard has been running pilot trials of credit and debit cards with an embedded fingerprint reader. The company says that the cards require no power, and are no thicker than standard cards …

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Apple Pay is now available from over 20 more banks and credit unions around the United States and Mainland China as part of the latest expansion wave. Apple’s mobile payment service launched just over two years ago with hundreds of additional regional banks and credit unions added every few weeks. You can find the latest banks added below.

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Western Union has long supported Apple Pay in stores for sending money and paying bills, and now the service is bringing in-app support for Apple Pay to mobile money transfers. This lets you send cash from your bank account to someone else using Apple’s fast and secure payment service rather than manually entering in and saving your debit card information.

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Apple Pay today added more banks and credit unions that now support the payment service, including over 20 for the U.S. and two new banks in Russia. The full list of newly added banks is below.

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Standing firm on the decision it originally handed down in November, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has officially rejected a proposal from a handful of big Australian banks that would have allowed them to negotiate in a group with Apple.

The news comes as Apple Pay’s rollout continues to lag in Australia due to disagreements between Apple and the big banks.

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After several months of speculation, it appears that Apple Pay is now rolling out to users in Taiwan. According to a report from The China Post, Apple’s mobile payment platform has started rolling out to users in the country…

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Square has now launched in the UK, allowing small businesses to accept payment by both cards and Apple Pay through its iPhone- and iPad-connected card readers. Even better, UK businesses will pay a lower transaction fee than Square charges in the USA.

A small white box combines a slot for chip-and-PIN cards and an NFC reader for contactless cards and Apple Pay …

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Wells Fargo has announced that you’ll be able to use Apple Pay to withdraw cash from many of its ATMs from later in the year. No card will be needed.

The company last week announced a first step in cardless ATM usage, but the clunkiness of the approach suggests something you’d use only in emergencies – if you’ve left home without your card.

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Apple Pay has been steadily growing as Apple continues to add support for new banks and rolls out the service to users in more countries, but we have less data on how much its been adopted in retail and among users. Giving some insight to usage, Apple analyst Gene Munster at Loup Ventures today released his “Apple Pay State of the Union” giving a look at adoption among retailers and much more.

Using the Internet Retailer top 100, the data shows retailer adoption as a percentage of potential adoption. The adoption includes all possible points of adoption for the platform including point of sale, in app, and through Apple Pay on the web for website checkout on both mobile and desktop browsers. Among the numbers, 31% have implemented at least one point of adoption, while an impressive 44% of the Internet Retailer 100 have adopted Apple Pay at point of sale. A similar 40% have adopted it as an in-app payment option.

When looking at those that have adopted Apple Pay at all possible points of adoption, it currently sits at 22% for the top 100.

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Apple introduced Apple Pay on the web with iOS 10 and macOS Sierra last fall, and today integrated payments provider WePay announced support for the mobile payment service on Safari. WePay clients include GoFundMe, FreshBooks, Meetup, and other major services.

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More restaurants will soon be offering the option to pay table side with Apple Pay as EMV terminal maker E la Carte announces its newest product that introduces the functionality. You might have noticed the company’s pay-at-table Presto touchscreen terminals at some restaurants already— its two big customers are Outback Steakhouse and Applebee’s— but its new Presto Prime terminal announced today offers a number of enhancements with Apple Pay among them:

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Remember CurrentC, the mobile payment service that kept getting in Apple’s way when Apple Pay launched a few years ago? MCX is the merchant consortium that was behind the QR code-based mobile payment service that ultimately never launched, and today JPMorgan Chase announced that it has acquired MCX’s payment technology.

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Following a launch in late 2016 for the US, Apple Pay in the UK now supports over twenty local charities. This means Apple users in Britain can make donations online using the same, simple, Apple Pay flow with Touch ID authentication.

Apple Pay on the web is supported on iPhone, iPad and the latest version of Safari for Mac. See the full list of UK charities already onboard after the jump …

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As we reported exclusively last night, Apple Pay is now live in Ireland. The service allows iPhone and Apple Watch owners to use the NFC chips in their devices to pay for their shopping at contactless terminals in retail stores across the country.

Apple Pay requires iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, or any Apple Watch, and is launching with support for Ulster Bank and KBC in Ireland. Apple has also announced that the service is coming soon to Italy.

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