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Apple Pay

939 'Apple Pay' stories April 2013 - August 2016
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Apple Pay is Apple’s mobile payments solution that allows users to seamlessly use their phone to pay for purchases both in retail stores, apps, and the web. The service was first introduced in 2014 and has been expanding to additional countries ever since then.

The service works in retail stores by simply holding your iPhone over a compatible checkout terminal and authenticating the purchase via Touch ID, or your Apple Watch with no further authentication required once you have unlocked the Watch. It’ss compatible with all iPhones from 6/6 Plus and and beyond, and all versions of Apple Watch.

In apps, it works by pulling in your card information and seamlessly allowing you to checkout using that card information. This prevents you from having to manually enter your card information every time you want to make a purchase. In addition to working with all of the iPhone models previously mentioned, Apple Pay in apps also works on iPads from the iPad mini 3 and Air 2 and beyond. Apple Pay is supported on the Mac and on the web with iOS 10 and macOS Sierra and beyond.

In addition to working with debit and credit cards, Apple Pay also works with rewards cards and store cards. This means that you can add something like your Starbucks card, Walgreens Balance Rewards card, and more to the Wallet app to easily keep track of everything.

To set up Apple Pay on an iPhone, open the Wallet app on iOS 11 and tap the plus (+) icon in the top right corner to begin, then follow the prompts. To add a debit card to the Apple Watch, go to the Apple Watch app on iPhone and look for the Wallet & Apple Pay section, then Add Credit or Debit Card section.

Apple Pay is the dominant mobile payments solution, even forcing its biggest potential competitor to shutdown, and as the service continues to expand, it will only get better. View the full list of retailers and banks that support the service on Apple’s website

Apple Pay is available in the following countries (click the country name to see compatible banks):

Australia

China*

Hong Kong

Japan

Kazakhstan

New Zealand

Singapore

Taiwan

Belgium

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Guernsey

Ireland

Isle of Man

Italy

Jersey

Monaco

Norway

Poland

Russia

San Marino

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Vatican City

Brazil

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Canada

The United States

Apple says opening up iPhone NFC would ‘fundamentally diminish’ security as Australian banks resist Apple Pay

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Aug 10 2016 - 2:57 am PT
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Apple has made a formal complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in response to resistance from Australian financial institutions to adopt Apple Pay. Apple says the country’s three largest banks have formed a monopolistic cartel and are collectively dictating terms of new payment business models, like Apple Pay.

It also rejected the request from banks to let them have access to the NFC radio and create alternate contactless payment systems on top of the iPhone. Apple says doing so would compromise the security of its platform as it mandates very high standards when customers make payments on Apple systems.


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Australian banks demand access to NFC chip on iPhone to better compete with Apple Pay

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jul 27 2016 - 5:30 am PT
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Australia’s three biggest banks are claiming that Apple is in breach of antitrust laws by not allowing third-party mobile payment apps to use the NFC chip used by Apple Pay for contactless payment.

Reuters reports that the banks have initially requested permission from regulators to jointly negotiate with Apple – ironically, because they might themselves be in breach of antitrust laws if they clubbed together to negotiate without clearance to do so …


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Barclays hopes that ‘poor man’s Apple Watch’ might help bPay compete with Apple Pay

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jul 7 2016 - 4:04 am PT
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When Apple Pay officially went live in the UK almost a year ago, it was supported by every major bank except Barclays, which waited a further nine months before joining in. The reason was because Barclays was trying to push its own mobile payment service, bPay – which is actually just a contactless card chip embedded into a variety of physical objects.


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Apple Pay launches in Switzerland with MasterCard and Visa bank cards

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Jul 7 2016 - 3:08 am PT
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Apple is continuing its expansion of its NFC mobile payments service, Apple Pay, today. This time around, Apple Pay has made its way to Switzerland, the second European launch after the United Kingdom. iPhone users in Switzerland can now setup their Visa and MasterCard bank cards in Apple Wallet and start using contactless payments at merchants from today. Apple Pay requires an iPhone with integrated NFC chip: iPhone 6, iPhone 6s or iPhone SE.


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Apple Pay adds over 40 new banks and credit unions in the United States

Avatar for Chance Miller Jun 21 2016 - 5:04 pm PT
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Just two weeks after coming to over 30 new banks and credit unions, Apple Pay today has added an additional 44 new institutions in the United States. The new banks come a few days after Bank of America announced that it was rolling out support for ATM withdrawals using Apple Pay and come as Apple announced several new countries for the mobile payment service at WWDC.

Below are the new banks and credit unions that now work with Apple Pay:


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Would a $60B purchase of Amex (AXP) make sense for Apple (AAPL) and Apple Pay?

Avatar for Chance Miller Jun 21 2016 - 3:30 pm PT
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Apple first introduced its mobile payments solution in 2014 and has been gradually expanding it both domestically and internationally since then, most recently announcing a handful of new features and countries at WWDC this month. What’s interesting to note, however, is that Apple is bringing in just $0.15 per every $100 spent using Apple Pay. Brian Nichols of InvestorPlace points out that rate is much lower than the 2 percent to 4 percent rates collected by companies like MasterCard and Visa. The solution suggested by Nichols? Make Apple Pay an actual transactor of payments…


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You can now use MyCokeRewards with Apple Pay (and score a free Coke)

Avatar for Zac Hall Jun 20 2016 - 11:16 am PT
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Last year Apple rebranded its Passbook app as Wallet and boosted Apple Pay by adding support for loyalty cards. Coca-Cola started accepting Apple Pay debit and credit cards at many of its vending machines around the same time, and now its loyalty card is catching up. Customers can add the MyCokeRewards loyalty card to Apple Pay and receive a free drink in return.


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Apple Watch Diary: Apple Pay saved the day when I left my wallet at home

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jun 20 2016 - 7:16 am PT
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Going out without your wallet or purse is something most of us have done at some time or another. When I did it four or five years ago, it was a complete pain as it was on a Saturday afternoon and no banks were open.

Picture the scene: I’m on my own in the car, call into a gas station to refuel, get to the till and … no wallet. Not the most convenient of times to discover one’s absent-mindedness. Fortunately I have a great bank. I called them, and they gave me an authorization number to give to the gas station attendant, who was able to put the transaction through.

But when I managed to leave my wallet at home on Friday evening, Apple Pay made it a non-event …


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Bank of America now rolling out support for ATM withdrawals using Apple Pay

Avatar for Chance Miller Jun 19 2016 - 3:26 pm PT
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Earlier this year, it was reported that Bank of America was working on supporting the ability to withdraw cash from an ATM using Apple Pay. Now, it appears the bank is rolling that feature out in select markets. First noticed by a user on Reddit, Bank of America is outfitting some of its ATMs with Apple Pay support and the ability to withdraw cash using it.


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Apple Pay rival MCX ending CurrentC beta test, deactivating all user accounts

Avatar for Chance Miller Jun 7 2016 - 3:55 pm PT
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After laying off some 30 employees last month, The Merchant Consortium Exchange, or MCX, announced today that it is ending its the ongoing CurrentC beta test and postponing all future releases. The beta test will be suspended on June 28th, according to an email sent to beta testers in Columbus, Ohio and obtained by The Consumerist.


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Apple Pay comes to over 30 new banks and credit unions in the United States

Avatar for Chance Miller Jun 7 2016 - 2:58 pm PT
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After coming to over two dozen new banks last month, Apple Pay today has expanded to over 30 new banks and credit unions in the United States. The new banks join the increasingly large list of existing banks and credit unions that support Apple’s mobile payment service. Below are the new banks and credit unions that now work with Apple Pay:


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Switzerland Apple Pay launch rumored for WWDC keynote day after promise to rapidly expand

Avatar for Zac Hall Jun 7 2016 - 8:54 am PT
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Apple Pay may be about to launch in its seventh region as soon as next week, according to Swiss finance website Finews.ch. The report believes Apple will bring its mobile payment service to customers in Switzerland on Monday, June 13th, which happens to be the date of Apple’s next keynote event at the start of WWDC. Apple Pay potentially reaching Switzerland follows a recent promise from the company to rapidly expand into more markets across Europe and Asia as well as reports of slow adoption outside of the US.


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