If you thought using Apple Pay was already easy, prepare to be amazed. It’s even easier when you enable Express Transit mode. In New York City, Portland and London, you can now pass the ticket barrier with just a wave of your wrist. And even if your local transit authority doesn’t support Express Transit mode yet, it could be coming soon.
Wanna give it a try? Here’s everything you need to know.
The last of Australia’s big four banks to adopt Apple Pay says that it will support Apple’s mobile payments service.
While Australia is just one market of many where Apple Pay is available, its arrival in the country has been particularly fraught with challenges. Westpac’s support marks the end of that particular story.
One of the best features of Apple Pay is finally starting to roll out to more public transit systems in the U.S. next year.
After being adopted by Washington D.C. and New York City this year, Apple Pay with Express Transit mode will reportedly be adopted by Philadelphia and San Diego next year, with other major cities planning to support it out by 2023.
Commuters can now use Apple Pay, along with other contactless payments systems, to pay for their travel at New York’s Penn Station.
That’s because the subway station has adopted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s OMNY contactless fare payment system. The 34th Street-Penn Station is one of the busiest transport hubs in North America. This should help make travel from there a little bit more bearable.
Apple Pay Express Transit is now available across all Transport for London services — including the Underground, buses, and trams.
Commuters can use the feature with iPhone or Apple Watch to pay for rides faster than before. It does not require transactions to be authorized with a face or fingerprint, so the whole process takes seconds.
For select purchases made using Apple Pay over the next week, Apple will donate $1 to (RED). The charity, which Apple has long had a partnership with, raises funds for HIV/AIDs program in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Salvation Army red kettle, a tradition begun back to the 19th century, has been updated for the 21st century. Passersby can now donate to this charity with Apple Pay or Google Pay.
A new German law forces Apple to allow other mobile payment services to use NFC on iPhone.
Apple has allowed only Apple Pay to take advantage of the technology until now. But Germany has decided that it won’t stand for that anymore — despite Apple’s concerns.
In August, EU antitrust investigators sent a questionnaire to banks and developers of rival payment systems about Apple Pay. They’ve gotten an earful, according to Margrethe Vestager, the EU Competition Commissioner.
European antitrust regulators are asking online retailers if they are contractually obligated to use Apple Pay over rival services.
The European Commission suggests it has information that Apple could have restricted online payments for goods and services using rival payment solutions. This would be in breach of EU antitrust rules.
Apple Pay is the most popular mobile payment system in the U.S., finally overtaking the Starbucks mobile app to take the crown.
According to eMarketer, 30.3 million users are currently using Apple Pay. Meanwhile, Starbucks’ mobile payment system has around 25.2 million customers.
Apple Pay, the iPhone’s built-in payment system, is reportedly in the sights of EU investigators. They are looking into whether Apple is giving its system an unfair advantage over competitors.
Apple Card is off to smashing start, according to Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon.
During an earnings call this morning, Solomon updated investors on the status of Apple Card which launched in the US in August. Despite some skeptics worrying about Apple Card’s profitability, Solomon claims Apple Card is “the most successful credit-card launch ever.”
Apple Pay is now supported by a number of new banks across Europe.
Bunq in Austria, ING in Germany, and ABN AMRO in the Netherlands have all adopted Apple’s mobile payments service. Phyre in Bulgaria and two banks in the Czech Republic are also in on the action.
Apple Pay users flying Southwest Airlines can now use Apple’s mobile payments service for their travels. Customers can use Apple Pay to pay for tickets as well as ancillary services, such as meals, during flights.
“Providing modern digital payment solutions to our Customers is critical,” said Christopher Priebe of Southwest Airlines. “The launch of Apple Pay enhances our ability to sell flights, as well as ancillary products using one of the most widely-used digital wallets in North America.”
Could an Apple cryptocurrency be coming? While it doesn’t sound like it’s on the immediate horizon, Apple Pay VP Jennifer Bailey recently suggested it’s not totally off the table.
It would fit with Apple’s growing embrace of financial services. The company got into mobile payments with Apple Pay in 2014 and released the Apple Card this year. Now, Cupertino appears to be taking a wait-and-see approach on cryptocurrencies.
Tim Cook has previously expressed his surprise at how slow mobile payments are growing in the U.S.
It seems that he’s not wrong, either. A new report shows that the United States is lagging behind other parts of the world when it comes to adopting mobile payments. Although Apple Pay is actually doing pretty well compared to its rivals.
Apple Card is now available to all iPhone users in the United States.
You can sign up for yours through the Wallet app. Users will enjoy 2% daily cash back on Apple Pay transactions, and 3% daily cash back on purchases made directly from Apple.
As the Apple credit card launched Tuesday, Cupertino also expanded its 3% daily cash back offer to include Uber and Uber Eats.
Apple will make a $10 donation to the National Park Foundation for every Apple Pay purchase in the Apple Store.
The charitable donation program runs through this week, concluding on Sunday, August 25. It covers purchases made via both Apple’s online and physical retail stores.
Tech companies are getting into the finance game, and not everyone’s happy about it.
That’s why a new draft bill is raising the possibility of banning tech companies from acting as financial institutions or issuing their own digital currencies.
Tomorrow is National French Fry Day and McDonald’s is celebrating by giving away these golden delicious treats every Friday for the rest of July. The fast-food chain has partnered with Apple Pay on this promotion so you’ll need to make the purchase with your iPhone.
Apple fans in Hong Kong will soon be able to add their Octopus transit cards to Apple Pay.
Support is “coming soon,” Octopus Cards Limited confirmed this week. It will allow you to use your iPhone or Apple Watch to pay for journeys and more with your transit card.
Update: Apple Pay launched in a total of 13 markets today. The full list includes Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia.
Apple Pay has debuted in four new countries. The mobile payment service is now live in Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Portugal.
Apple has said that Apple Pay will be supported in 40 countries by the end of 2019. This marks yet another step toward that goal.
The long wait for Apple Card to launch might soon be over if the latest beta software from Apple is any indication.
iOS 12.4, which includes support for Apple Card, just got its fifth beta build today along with new beta builds for macOS 10.14.6 and watchOS 5.3.
Revolut has expanded Apple Pay support to 16 countries across Europe.
The mobile banking service first started working with Apple Pay in late May, but only in the United Kingdom. Revolut says its customers have been requesting support “for a long time.”
