Apple Pay today launched in Spain, marking the 13th country where the mobile wallet service is available for Apple customers. The news follows a report published yesterday by Spanish website Applesfera that said Apple Pay would launch in the country on December 1.
Today, Apple Pay's availability in Spain began through a partnership with Amex and Banco de Santander. Credit and debit cards issued by Carrefour and Ticket Restaurant are also accepted. The full list of Apple Pay retail partners and compatible apps can be found on Apple's Spanish website.
Banco Santander today brings its customers Apple Pay, an easy, secure and private way to pay that’s fast and convenient. Santander is the first Spanish financial institution to offer Apple Pay to its customers. Redsys and Mastercard collaborated in the initiative. "Apple Pay shows we are committed to collaborate and to bring innovation and new technology to our customers to make their payments easier, faster and more secure," said Rami Aboukhair, country head of Santander Spain. "We are convinced our customers will love it."
At participating retailers, Apple Pay allows customers to pay for meals, clothes, groceries, and other items through a simple one-tap payment solution that uses existing NFC technology, and the service has slowly been adding additional retail partners since its launch in 2014. Apple Pay is also available within some apps, and is now available on the web in iOS 10 and macOS Sierra.
After today, Apple Pay is now available in the U.S., UK, China, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, France, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Japan, and New Zealand. Most recently, Apple Pay launched in Japan with the support of the country's widely adopted FeliCa payments standard, meaning only iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and Apple Watch Series 2 models that are sold in the country can be used for Apple Pay transactions there.
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Top Rated Comments
(View all)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.
The potential user base for the technology overlaps nicely with iPhone's demographic.
[doublepost=1480600594][/doublepost]
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.[doublepost=1480600760][/doublepost]
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.[doublepost=1480601002][/doublepost]
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.
What's that "Cash"????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!).
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.I'm in the same boat! I'm so annoyed by the German's attitude of paying cash.
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.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