Apple Pay Launches in Spain for American Express and Banco de Santander Customers

ApplePay has no geographical limitations and works anywhere in the world. If you can find a payment terminal that support contactless payments in Mongolia you can use ApplePay there. The only thing that matters is if your bank supports ApplePay and Apple is rolling the relationships with banks out country-by-country.

When they say "ApplePay has launched in Spain" they mean that ApplePay is now supported by (some) Spanish banks meaning that most Spaniards can now use ApplePay anywhere in the world. Someone with a UK debit card could already use ApplePay in Spain provided the payment terminal supports contactless payments.

After having lived in Denmark for several years, I just feel annoyed about how payments are handled here in Germany. We are just so dated in how we handle this stuff... I would love to get Apple Pay!

Slowly, but surely, building domination in digital payments.

The potential user base for the technology overlaps nicely with iPhone's demographic.

ApplePay has no geographical limitations and works anywhere in the world. If you can find a payment terminal that support contactless payments in Mongolia you can use ApplePay there. The only thing that matters is if your bank supports ApplePay and Apple is rolling the relationships with banks out country-by-country.

When they say "ApplePay has launched in Spain" they mean that ApplePay is now supported by (some) Spanish banks meaning that most Spaniards can now use ApplePay anywhere in the world. Someone with a UK debit card could already use ApplePay in Spain provided the payment terminal supports contactless payments.

- Spot on. I've used it in Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Spain with no issues without Apple Pay being officially supported in any of those places.

But the bank support is the crucial bit to really enable it as a viable payment method in a country.

I see. Thanks for the explanation. Now the question is: Would a "German" Santander credit card be accepted by apple pay if I set the region in my phone to Spain? I can't try it myself right now since Apple is replacing my battery right now...

- It would not. Apple Pay would recognise it as a German card and reject it. Apple Pay also works with HSBC and other international banks in some countries. That doesn't mean it can be used in every country where those banks operate.

Same here! Very annoying. Wallets full of cash and no-one accepts credit/debit cards. Only those outdated EC cards and still not everybody.

Yes, I was in Berlin two weeks ago and was shocked at how hard it was to pay with a normal debit card at many places.

The UK is typically slow with these things, and was slow with card payments (or requiring a PIN for card payments!) too. But, and that is also typical for the UK, once it got accepted it suddenly went at breakneck speed. I think it's been months since I last had cash in my wallet (I am not kidding!).

hi

sorry to ask some basic stuff about apple pay but maybe it fits in this topic.

my country of japan has also introduced apple pay but only accessible if you have iPhone 7 model bought in Japan. i am considering getting the iPhone 7 just for apple pay.

anyway. my questions relate to multiple country use of apple pay.

1 if a card is registered in one country with apple pay and that apple card is used in a different apple pay country, no problem. is this correct?

Dependent on the card. I have a UK visa credit card which did not work in Hong Kong... i last tested it before Apple Pay went live there, but technically it should have worked given the 7-11 accepted visa paywave... anyway i can test it again next time perhaps. I also have a Chinese China UnionPay card registered, and that worked fine in Hong Kong - also before Apple Pay launched there. Different cards emulate themselves in different ways... the only thing you can be certain of is your card working in its country of issue.

2 is your Regional Setting still used as your apple pay country?

No. It's like an on/off switch but doesn't limit you to adding cards from that country. If your region is set to a country without apple pay you can't register any cards. If it's one with apple pay, you can register any cards. Mine is set to the UK and i can add China UnionPay cards successfully if i wish to.

3 But if your Regional Setting is Japan, can apple pay still be used as is, with your Japan based credit card, say, for example, in the USA?

Thats entirely dependent on your credit card and nothing to do with your regional setting. And possibly dependent on whether the apple pay element inside the japanese phones supports payments in Japan in addition to ones in the ROTW or simply in place of it, as the contactless infrastructure is different there. JCB or Suica cards won't work; Visa cards *might*. Or might not.

4 Or, do you need to use a USA Regional Setting and therefore a USA based card in the USA?

Nothing to do with regional setting, as above. Dependent on the things I mentioned above - mostly whether the Japan version of the iphone 7 is world+japan or just... japan.

Sorry for basic questions...

Thanks in advance.

I stopped using Apple Pay because the process is so inconsistent from place to place. One store will make me click an "accept button" one store will have the reader behind the counter, one store won't have any clue what Apple Pay is (even some that accept it had no idea what it was when I asked) It needs time to mature...like, a long time.

Sometimes you sign, sometimes you dip, sometimes you chip. Does that stop you from using a creditcard? Strange reason from stopping Apple Pay.

Looking forward to see this in the Netherlands. Today, however, I would be hungry as I left my iPhone at the charger at home and would not be able to buy my lunch :)
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How funny! Literally no shop takes american express in Spain. Why does Apple Pay only get release in niches?

Because the big players perhaps are not looking for this right now, making Apple reach out to the small one's who think they might benefit from AP.
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After having lived in Denmark for several years, I just feel annoyed about how payments are handled here in Germany. We are just so dated in how we handle this stuff... I would love to get Apple Pay!

Yes I know, I remember that in the 90th while e-banking was wide spread, German suppliers would favor a written check over an electronic payment.
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Yes, I was in Berlin two weeks ago and was shocked at how hard it was to pay with a normal debit card at many places.

The UK is typically slow with these things, and was slow with card payments (or requiring a PIN for card payments!) too. But, and that is also typical for the UK, once it got accepted it suddenly went at breakneck speed. I think it's been months since I last had cash in my wallet (I am not kidding!).

What's that "Cash"????

I'm in the same boat! I'm so annoyed by the German's attitude of paying cash.
One idea here though: What if I had a Santander credit card (they're available here too) - can I use that for apple pay in Germany?mmmh

You wouldn't be able to use a Santander card issued by their German subsidiary. To use Apple Pay you need have a card that is issued within one of the supported countries.