Apple Pay could launch in the Czech Republic as soon as February 19, a new report claims.
According to sources “familiar with the developments on the banking market,” a number of banks will soon offer the service. These include Air Bank, Komercni bank, Monet, mBank, and Twisto.
This would be in keeping with a previous rumor suggesting that Apple Pay would launch in the Czech Republic and Slovakia sometime in late February or early March. It’s not clear whether the Slovakia launch will also take place on Feb 19.
It would make the Czech Republic the 33rd market to receive Apple Pay, after it launched in Germany back in December.
The rise of Apple Pay
Apple launched Apple Pay back in 2014. Since then, the company has aggressively expanded the number of countries it is available in. Despite the growth, Tim Cook has admitted that mobile payments have taken off slower than he expected. However, markets outside the U.S. have an advantage due to the already existing widespread use of contactless technology.
Apple Pay has had a series of positive developments as of late. In the U.S., retail giant Target recently added Apple Pay support. This is particularly significant since Target was previously a notable holdout to Apple’s mobile payments service.
Another previous holdout which has come around was Australia’s largest bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (abbreviated to CommBank), which initially refused to support Apple Pay. It has now reversed this position.
Are you an Apple Pay user? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: IDNES.cz
Via: Apple Insider
