Apple Pay Rumored to Arrive in Ukraine in Q2 2018

Apple Pay will continue its worldwide expansion next year, with a new report suggesting that Apple is planning to launch its mobile payments wallet in Ukraine in the second quarter of 2018. The news comes from PaySpace Magazine (via Tehnot.com) [Google Translate], which reported on the announcement of a new digital banking service, Alfa Digital, a division of financial institution Alfa-Bank.

During the announcement, Alfa-Bank Ukraine's head of e-business, Maxim Patrin, mentioned that Apple Pay is set to debut in Ukraine sometime in Q2 2018. Patrin's source of the news is said to come from an anonymous tipster in one of the payment systems currently in operation on the Ukrainian market.

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Alfa Digital is said to be keeping a close eye on the Ukrainian debut of popular digital wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, and plans to support the addition of cards issued by Alfa-Bank into Apple Pay whenever it launches. Patrin didn't mention any further details about the launch.

In the second quarter of 2018 Apple Pay payment service can run on the Ukrainian market. This was stated by the head of "Alfa-Bank Ukraine" e-business, Maxim Patrin, citing an anonymous source in one of the payment systems that operate on the Ukrainian market.

Ukraine currently lacks Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay, instead relying on contactless payment solutions like Privat24 to let users pay for items using their smartphone. Samsung Pay is rumored to beat Apple Pay to Ukraine, with a potential launch of Samsung's mobile wallet sometime in the middle of 2017.

The latest Apple Pay launch took place in Italy in the middle of May, with users in the country able to add Visa and MasterCards issued by Boon, Carrefour, and UniCredit into their iPhone. Apple Pay is now available in the United States, UK, China, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, France, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Ireland, and Italy.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

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Top Rated Comments

macuserpl Avatar
111 months ago
Seriously? And what about Poland? We have over a million people using mobile payment solutions such as BLIK (Polish mobile payment system based on a token) or most recently Android Pay and still Apple doesn't want to introduce Apple Pay here. I can't understand it.

If only they realized how many people tried to bypass the restrictions by using Wirecard / boom they would maybe understand how much do they lose by not offering Apple Pay to Polish customers... :/
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MLVC Avatar
111 months ago
lol... Ukraine, yet Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Poland etc. can wait forever.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
friednoodles Avatar
111 months ago
and still Apple doesn't want to introduce Apple Pay here. I can't understand it.
I'm sure they want to introduce it everywhere, but organising everything with the local banks and getting them to agree is generally what takes the time. It'll get there eventually.
[doublepost=1496156826][/doublepost]
Apple Pay is now available in the United States, UK, China, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, France, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Ireland, and Italy.
And Taiwan.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SBlue1 Avatar
111 months ago
Seriously? And what about Poland? We have over a million people using mobile payment solutions such as BLIK (Polish mobile payment system based on a token) or most recently Android Pay and still Apple doesn't want to introduce Apple Pay here. I can't understand it.

If only they realized how many people tried to bypass the restrictions by using Wirecard / boom they would maybe understand how much do they lose by not offering Apple Pay to Polish customers... :/
Do you really think they don't want to?? My guess its the banks that don't want more competition.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JTToft Avatar
111 months ago
lol... Ukraine, yet Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Poland etc. can wait forever.
- Countries in Central and Northern Europe are some of the richest, most technologically developed, and most Apple-dominated places in the world. The market should be ripe for Apple Pay. I know I can't wait.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)