Banks switch on Apple Pay support unexpectedly early

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Screenshot: Alex Heath/ Cult of Mac
Screenshot: Alex Heath/ Cult of Mac

A group of banks added support for Apple Pay today, including USAA, PNC Bank, US Bank, Barclaycard and Navy Federal Credit Union.

USAA and PNC had previously said Apple Pay wouldn’t be supported until November 7, but their cards have already started working in Passbook as of this morning.

“We’re excited to make this new service available to our members starting today,” said Randy Hopper, vice president of credit cards and business optimization at Navy Federal, the largest credit union in the U.S. “Our members live fast-paced and mobile lives. And, they have enthusiastically adopted our mobile banking solutions. Now, with Apple Pay, they’ll be able to save time when shopping while having a safe and easy payment experience.”

“We couldn’t be more pleased to see this day arrive for our customers,” said Dominic Venturo, chief innovation officer at U.S. Bank in another statement. “Providing our customers the ability to securely pay where, when and how they want is a central theme for our payments business. Enabling our customers to use Apple Pay is the perfect example of how we bring that philosophy to life.”

All of the banks listed as coming "later this year" by Apple flipped the Apple Pay switch this morning,
All of the banks listed as coming “later this year” by Apple flipped the Apple Pay switch this morning,

Apple still lists USAA, PNC, US Bank and Navy Federal among the list of Apple Pay partners coming “later this year,” but the list will likely be updated soon to reflect their integration. Today’s banks join American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo as Apple Pay partners in the United States.

Update: Some readers are reporting issues with PNC not being able to verify cards with Apple Pay. We’ve reached out to PNC for clarification and will update if we receive a reply.

Update 2: PNC confirmed Apple Pay support with a statement:

“As security remains top of mind for PNC and our customers, the features of Apple Pay make it another convenient way for how consumers make in-store purchases today,” said Henry Fulton, Retail Assets executive for PNC. “We look for Apple Pay to help redefine the way individuals spend their money.”

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