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MasterCard May Support Apple Pay in Canada, Brazil and Asia This Year

That could soon change in at least Canada, as MacRumors has learned that MasterCard has Apple Pay support in that country on its 2016 roadmap. The information is based on an unverified internal document, however, so the plans cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt until other evidence surfaces.
MasterCard credit cards are issued by a number of Canada's largest banks, including BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD Canada Trust, while store-branded MasterCards are available from large retailers such as Canadian Tire, Costco, and Walmart. Most of these stores and institutions also offer Visa, but their plans remain unknown.
MasterCard is also looking to support Apple Pay in Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore in 2016, according to the document. Apple previously announced that its Apple Pay partnership with American Express will expand to Hong Kong, Singapore, and Spain this year, while Brazil and Japan would be entirely new markets.
Earlier this month, a hidden "NetworkInterac" string was uncovered in iOS 9.2.1 code that hints at Apple Pay support at Canada's big banks. Interac is Canada's official debit card network, adopted by the country's largest financial institutions nationwide. TD already stirred speculation in October when it inadvertently listed Apple Pay as a method of payment on its website, before quickly removing it.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Apple is preparing to launch Apple Pay in France, and it could make an announcement by September 2016 -- perhaps at WWDC in June. The original report did not specify when Apple Pay will become available in French stores, nor did it have information about which French banks and participating issuers will support iPhone payments upon launch.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)I'll believe it when it's finally announced - anything else is just vapourware.
Whoever wrote that doesn't seem to understand that Amex is the only credit card company that operates individually in Canada (hence how they were able to negotiate a deal with Apple). All of the MC / Visa cards are issued through the financial institutions.
Wrote what? The article seems to clearly indicate that the banks are the issuers of the cards.
If credit cards are coming that means they must be on board
If Apple Pay gets into the big banks in Canada it will be because they will get next to nothing per transaction. Unlike the U.S. which has been light years behind with CC and Debit card security Canadian banks have been in the forefront with chips, pins, and tap-and-go - they are in no hurry to give money to Apple when they already provide secure services. Also pretty small demographic of iPhone users in Canada. Don't forget to exhale.
Basically, this is an article stating nothing. Or, at least, nothing new.
I'd call a new internal roadmap document that was leaked "stating something new", regardless of whether or not it is legitimate (this is a rumour website after all).
It's definitely stating something. If nothing else, it's stating that MasterCard is preparing the network for card verification/network changes even if it doesn't specifically mention the underlying financial banks.
Site-note: I'm almost certain that CTFS is independent, with the exception of Scotiabank owning a small chunk as of very recently. They most certainly would negotiate on their own, even if they were wholly owned by another big bank.
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