Apple Pay - page 14

After almost two years of planning, Apple is finally ready to launch Apple Pay in China, the world’s second biggest retail market.

It may have taken a bit longer than Tim Cook hoped, but Apple Pay is finally launching in China this week — with bank representatives from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Guangfa Bank and China Construction Bank revealing that the mobile payments service will be available from February 18.

These three banks will be joined by 16 other Chinese banks and financial organizations over the coming months.

iPhone users will soon be able to get their chicken fix without busting out their wallets.

Apple revealed today that Apple Pay is now accepted at more than 2 million locations across the US, and it’s continuing to grow by adding new retailers like fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, Crate & Barrel, as well as Au Bon Pain.

Businesses across the US are pretty much out of excuses for not accepting Apple Pay now that Square’s wireless card reader is ready for prime time.

Starting today, every Apple Store in the US is now selling the new Square card readers that bring Apple Pay support as well as the ability to accept new chip-and-pin cards for transactions.

One day, your iPhone or Apple Watch could actually start dispensing money.

It’ll be your own money coming out of an ATM, but it’s still cool.

Officials at Bank of America and Wells Fargo have dropped hints that they have their eyes on incorporating Apple Pay into near-field-communication-equipped teller machines. Neither company is prepared to say when or how widely this will happen, but considering they’re two of the largest banks in the United States, this could be a big deal.

Apple Pay has added the last of the U.K. holdout banks, with Barclays revealing that it will start offering Apple’s mobile payment service to customers in the United Kingdom, “within the next 60 to 75 days.”

Although there’s no definite day given, that would put the date somewhere between March 12 and 27, which is slightly later than the “very early 2016” launch the bank had mentioned last year.

Samsung has long subscribed to the “If you can’t beat ’em, release a load of ads making fun of them” strategy when it comes to smartphone rival Apple.

In its latest ad, the South Korean tech company keeps this trend alive by recruiting comedian Hannibal Buress to show off Samsung Pay’s big advantage over Apple Pay.

And — you know what — as far as petty ads taking shots at your rivals go, this one actually isn’t bad.

Google’s answer to Apple Pay may have been late to the game, but it’s already leading the way with a new rewards program — and it’s awesome.

Dubbed “Tap 10,” the program offers up free Google Play content simply for using Android Pay on a regular basis, and there’s even a mention of Chromecast giveaways.

Apple watchers should expect the company’s mobile payment service, Apple Pay, to expand to new markets in 2016 — with a heavy emphasis on Asia.

According to a new report, Apple is focusing on Asia and Europe since adoption in the United States has been slower than expected. Regions set to get Apple Pay next year so far include China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain.

Target is reportedly looking to become a player in the mobile wallet game. The fourth largest retailer in the U.S. would be joining a market that’s quickly becoming pretty crowded. The next mobile payment solution on your smartphone very well could be Target Pay, though it can’t be confirmed at this time.

Apple Pay will finally arrive in China next year, and it’s going to have strong competition from day one. Just hours after Apple announced the expansion of its mobile payment service, Samsung confirmed its own will be following after it struck an almost identical deal with China UnionPay.

After more than a year of calling it “top of the list” in the company’s priorities, Apple today announced that it is partnering with China UnionPay to bring Apple Pay to China, the country Tim Cook has been outspoken about calling Apple’s biggest market of the future.

Australian banks including Westpac, ANZ and Macquarie have announced that they will soon accept contactless payments made via Android Pay — although would-be Apple Pay customers are still being left out in the cold.

The reason? Banks still aren’t happy with Apple’s terms for its mobile payments solution, and showing that they are willing to accept Android Pay is a way of forcing a better deal with Apple.

Apple Pay is showing up in more places these days, but if you live in a town like mine, it can be hard to know exactly where those places are.

Want to know whether that hip restaurant down the street or your local pharmacy supports Apple Pay before you get there? Here’s a super easy trick using either your iPhone or your Mac.

The upcoming 4-inch iPhone that has been picking up steam in the rumor mill the last few weeks won’t be a weakling when it comes to processing power, according to a new report that claims Apple’s new A9 chip will power the device.

Apple expert Ming-Chi Kuo at KGI Securities told investors today that his sources indicate the iPhone 6c is definitely real, and that it will look more like the iPhone 5s than an iPhone 6.

Apple may have kicked butt on Black Friday, with reports of its strongest Friday sales in history and more online purchases made using iOS devices than Androids by a giant margin.

There was one area of Apple’s business where Black Friday wasn’t a day of triumph, however, and that’s Apple Pay. According to a new report, only half the total percentage of Apple customers who used Apple Pay at last year’s Black Friday used it during this year’s sales bonanza.

Australia may recently have said “G’day” to Apple Pay, but when it comes to the country’s overall embrace of Apple’s NFC payment platform, well, let’s just say that a few more shrimps could be tossed on the proverbial barbie.

That’s because, despite now being available to Amex customers Down Under, Australia’s Reserve Bank is being pushed to examine anti-competitive behavior due to Australia’s major banks allegedly freezing out Apple Pay — and thereby denying choice to customers in terms of digital payments.

Apple has come to a preliminary agreement with China UnionPay to introduce Apple Pay in China through UnionPay’s point-of-sales network.

The deal — which builds on this week’s report that Apple Pay will be coming to China by February 2016 — will help UnionPay and Chinese banks to fend off third-party payment services like those belonging to Alibaba and Tencent.

Having recently arrived in Canada and Australia, and with plans underway for a February launch in China, it’s safe to say that Apple Pay is taking over the NFC payments world.

Which is exactly why, according to a new report, banks are ramping up their technology budgets in order to compete — concerned that tech companies like Apple could outgun them on the payments front.

Tim Cook has described his desire to bring Apple Pay to China as “top of the list” in terms of priorities — and now it seems like he may finally be on the verge of hitting his goal.

According to a new report, it is hoped that Apple Pay will launch in China by early February, after Apple struck deals with China’s four biggest state-run banks.

You local coffee shop might finally start accepting Apply Pay this week, thanks to the official launch of Square’s new card readers that support NFC payments, as well as new chip-and-pin debit cards.

U.K. MasterCard customers in London can take advantage of a great Apple Pay promotion right now — with the ability to use London’s tubes, buses and trains for free for the next four Mondays, starting today.

They year of Apple Pay is nearly over, but the company is continuing to make its contactless payments push with a new guided tour video for iPhone users.

The new video details how iPhone owners can use Touch ID to verify payments both at physical payment terminals, as well as via shopping apps on iOS. There’s also a walk through on how to manage and setup new cards through the Wallet app.

Take the full tour below:

Apple Pay has finally made its way to iPhone and Apple Watch users in the Land Down Under, but only if they’re using American Express.

One day after the mobile payments service launched in Canada, Apple has flipped the switch for Apple Pay in Australia, allowing iOS device owners to make payments at any retailer that accepts Amex contactless payments.

Here are some of the stores participating in the launch:

Samsung is already fighting Apple Pay head on in the U.S., and now the South Korean company wants to beat it to new markets. A new report claims Samsung Pay will make its way to China, Spain, and the U.K. next year — only one of which is already supported by Apple Pay.