Apple Pay

Apple has now flipped on support for Apple Pay to more than 40 additional banks and credit unions across the United States. The new banks join a steadily growing list of over 400 institutions across the country with active support for Apple’s mobile payment service. Apple Pay also recently debuted in the UK with 9 of the major banks supported so far. You can find the latest additions of US banks below:
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After my first impressions, lengthy update, decision point and one month update, this week is when I have to officially lose the ‘skeptic’ prefix to my Apple Watch diary series and relabel myself as a fully-fledged convert.

The trigger for this realization was a fairly small one, but one which clearly demonstrated to me that – little by little – the Apple Watch is transforming itself into a gadget I eventually won’t want to be without … 
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Following the launch of Apple Pay in the UK two weeks ago, Apple is continuing the rollout with the addition of two major banks, HSBC and First Direct. Customers who have credit cards or debit cards with those banks can start using Apple Pay now. As with other UK Apple Pay transactions, there is a £20 transaction limit at most retailers apart from those with upgraded payment terminals that support higher-value contactless purchases. The £20 limit is getting raised to £30 in September.

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With Apple Pay now up and running in the UK, Apple is continuing to roll out additional banks and credit unions in waves across the US for its iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch-based mobile payment service. The latest round includes 34 more institutions now supporting Apple Pay. Here are the latest to join in the US as well as the full list to date:
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Apple Pay went live in the UK earlier this week with its first international rollout since debuting in the US last October, but Apple’s iPhone- and Apple Watch-based mobile payment solution hasn’t been without its own launch issues across the pond. To start, Apple Pay is a bit restricted in the UK as it is limited to transactions under £20 until September when the contactless payment rules change and the limit increases slightly to £30. Aside from a low transaction limit, paying with the iPhone or Apple Watch using Apple Pay at the London Underground transportation system has caused some initial confusion for riders as there are a few things to consider when paying electronically…
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Apple Pay has gone live in the UK today with over 250,000 officially blessed locations (although Apple Pay will work at any standard NFC terminal) and seven banks. In the runup to the launch, the main holdout has been Barclays bank who instead promoted their alternative ‘bPay’ service.

Now, though, they have changed their tune. Over Twitter, Barclays announced that it is actually  ‘really excited’ about Apple Pay and will add support for the service to Barclaycard debit and credit cards in future.

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As we reported would happen, Apple Pay will be going live in the U.K. today. The service launches in the country with support from more than 250,000 stores, including Waitrose and Transport for London on its transportation networks. Currently, 8 U.K. banks support Apple Pay. Those banks are American Express, First Direct, HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Ulster Bank. Notably missing from that list is Barclays, who is said to still be in negotiations with Apple to support the platform.

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HSBC appears to have let slip the release date of Apple Pay in the UK over Twitter. In a tweet that has since been deleted, a support representative from the bank said ‘Yes! It’s due to launch this Tuesday! We are excited too’. 9to5Mac previously reported the 14th July date for the expansion of Apple Pay into the UK a couple of weeks ago.

UK retailers also seem to think that the Apple Pay launch is imminent as signs showing support for the contactless technology have started appearing across the country, as noted by 9to5Mac readers and Matt Brian on Twitter.

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Apple is continuing the roll out of Apple Pay today with the addition of 20+ new US banks and credit unions supporting the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch-based payments service.

The total 23 new banks and credit unions include:
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Apple appears to be planning to enable its Apple Pay iPhone mobile payments service in the United Kingdom on July 14th, according to sources at multiple retailers. Apple has informed some Apple Retail employees in the U.K. that Apple Pay support will go live on that Tuesday, while an internal memos for supermarket Waitrose plus an additional retail partner indicate the same date…

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When Apple announced that Apple Pay would be coming to the UK in July, there was one major bank missing from the list: Barclays. While the company tweeted that in was in “constructive talks” with Apple, it seemed odd that all other major UK banks had managed to reach agreement while it hadn’t. We may now know the reason for this.

CNET reports that Barclays is hoping to persuade its customers to use its own bPay mobile payment service instead. Rather than embedding a virtual card in an iPhone app, the company wants people to apply a sticker to the back of their phone – or carry a keyfob or wear a wristband … 
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Apple Pay is going international starting with the United Kingdom next month. The precise nature of how Apple Pay will work in the UK has been murky, with banks saying different things. Apple has now posted a FAQ to explain the situation.

Apple Pay will work with any current contactless reader. By default, it uses the same technology as other UK contactless cards. This means that performing an Apple Pay purchase will not require a PIN (as is standard with UK Chip and PIN payments). However, the usual £20 limit on contactless transactions does apply … for the time being. When Apple Pay launches in July, almost all merchants will only allow Apple Pay purchases up to £20 …

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I first speculated that Apple might one day become a bank almost a year before the launch of Apple Pay. What triggered that thought was the use of Touch ID for iTunes purchases and the depth of security involved in the secure enclave used by Apple’s fingerprint system. It was clear even then that Apple had big ambitions in the mobile payment field.

Now that Apple Pay has launched, and already proven a big success, I think the argument for Apple to make the move are even stronger. So here are seven reasons I think Apple may become a bank within the next five years … 
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Apple Pay is going international for the first time next month with its expansion into the UK, but for now Apple is steadily turning on support through more partnered banks and credit unions across the United States. The latest addition includes more than two dozen institutions now supporting Apple’s iPhone-, iPad-, and Apple Watch-based mobile payment service. Here are the latest banks joining Apple’s list as well as the full list of Apple Pay banks to date:
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With Apple’s new Wallet app in iOS 9, a revamped version of the old Passbook app with a name that better reflects Apple Pay integration, Apple will let marketers send out dynamic offers triggered by location or a user’s interests through iAd. Apple noted the feature on its blog for advertisers explaining that “marketers can reach loyal customers with specific messages that reflect the customers’ interests, or convert a new customer by presenting a reason to try something new.”
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Apple earlier this week announced a handful of retailers that will be the first to offer loyalty card support through Apple Pay, but there’s one company planned for the initial launch that it didn’t mention: Whole Foods. Expect the roll out of other rewards cards to be slow, however, as NFC terminals work to enable support with retailers…
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Verifone will be among the first to enable its NFC terminals to support Apple Pay’s upcoming support for customer loyalty cards, the company announced today.

As part of its WWDC announcements on Monday, Apple said that it would soon enable loyalty cards in Apple Pay as it renames the iOS Passbook app “Wallet” to better reflect the addition of payment services since its launch. But before that happens, payment terminal manufacturers will have to flip the switch on support for loyalty cards through their NFC terminals. One of the first companies to do that will be Verifone, one of the leaders in making NFC terminals.

The company announced today that it will enable support for loyalty cards on its MX 915 and MX 925 terminals, allowing six national and global retailers to start accepting loyalty transitions and redeeming rewards through Apple Pay.
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UK bank Barclays is the only major holdout from the launch of Apple Pay in the UK. From next month, users with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or Apple Watch in the United Kingdom will be able to use the NFC mobile payments chip inside their iPhone to use Apple Pay.

Apple announced yesterday a whole swathe of partners, including Santander, HSBC and Lloyds. The notable omission from the ‘big four’ British banks is Barclays. Barclays’ Twitter support has come under fire in the aftermath from customers and has issued the following statement, which shows that all hope is not lost for Apple Pay for iPhone users who bank with Barclays.

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