Apple Pay May Launch in the Netherlands and Poland Later This Year

In addition to Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates, Apple Pay may launch in the Netherlands and Poland later this year.

Dutch blog One More Thing, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, claims that ING will be the first bank to offer Apple Pay in the Netherlands. Virtual bank Bunq also supposedly plans to support Apple Pay.

Rabobank, one of the largest banks in the Netherlands, reportedly hasn't yet taken any concrete steps towards Apple Pay.

Apple has translated Apple Pay support pages on its website to Dutch and French for the Netherlands and Belgium. Apple Pay was already rumored to launch in Belgium in May, but five months have passed and it has yet to happen.

The report cites one source who claims Apple Pay could launch in the Netherlands on November 2, but the blog could not confirm the date.

Apple's fourth quarter earnings results are scheduled for the same day, so it's possible that Apple will use the subsequent conference call as an opportunity to announce the next wave of Apple Pay launch countries.

MacRumors also received an anonymous tip today with an alleged screenshot of Apple Pay being tested on an iPhone in Poland.

The screenshot shows a Mastercard from PKO Bank Polski, suggesting that bank could be the first to support Apple Pay in the country. However, it could also be a placeholder card for Apple's internal testing only.

The tipster said Apple Pay should be ready to launch in Poland by the end of this year, but we're unable to confirm the authenticity of this information.

Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey has previously said Apple is "working rapidly" to expand Apple Pay to additional countries in Europe and Asia. According to Apple's services chief Eddy Cue, that could soon include India.

Apple Pay is currently available in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, Singapore, Switzerland, France, Hong Kong, Russia, New Zealand, Japan, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

(Thanks, Burak Polat!)