Apple Pay is Set to Launch in Germany

Apple Pay is about to launch in Germany. Banks such as HVB and Bunq this morning sent out emails to customers announcing their imminent support for Apple's mobile payment system in the country.

apple pay germany
Apple Pay is "coming soon" according to Apple's own regional German website, which lists supported banks and cards, including boon, comdirect, Edenred, Fidor Bank, Hanseatic Bank, and Vim Pay. We'll update this article as soon as we can confirm that Apple Pay is operational in Germany for end users.

Apple Pay support in Germany has been rumored for some time, while Apple has been working to establish deals over fees and other factors with German banks.

During a July earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook also confirmed that Apple planned to bring Apple Pay to Germany in late 2018.

(Thanks, Lukas!)

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Germany

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

Leaker Reveals Amount of RAM in iPhone 17 Through iPhone 17 Pro Max

Wednesday July 9, 2025 8:08 am PDT by
Three out of four iPhone 17 models will feature more RAM than the equivalent iPhone 16 models, according to a new leak that aligns with previous rumors. The all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with 12GB of RAM, according to Fixed Focus Digital, an account with more than two million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive These Five Perks

Wednesday July 9, 2025 9:20 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, did you know that Apple offers you five perks beyond the extra storage space, at no additional cost? Here are the perks included with all iCloud+ plans:Private Relay keeps your Safari browsing history entirely private from network providers, websites, and even Apple. Hide My Email generates unique, random email addresses whenever needed. Hom...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Foldable iPhone Display Production Begins Ahead of Launch Next Year

Wednesday July 9, 2025 10:59 pm PDT by
Production of foldable OLED displays for Apple's first foldable iPhone have begun ahead of its expected launch next year, Korea's ETNews reports. The first foldable iPhone's displays are being produced by Samsung Display, who are establishing a production line dedicated to the upcoming Apple device its A3 factory in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do. The production line will make displays exclusively...

Top Rated Comments

Bug-Creator Avatar
87 months ago
That list of banks excludes the vast majority of of Germans atm.

So unless Apple can get the likes of Sparkasse,Volksbank,Postbank and DeutscheBank to join this won't get far.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Quasselstripper Avatar
87 months ago
That list of banks excludes the vast majority of of Germans atm.

So unless Apple can get the likes of Sparkasse,Volksbank,Postbank and DeutscheBank to join this won't get far.
I know lots of people who switched banks in order to use Apple Pay (e.g. N26).
The old Banks have no idea what a young generation wants – those banks will eventually die out.

That's what I thought. I have used to pay at Frankfurt airport just a few months ago.
Dude NFC payment is not limited to Apple Pay.
We have wireless credit cards for quite some time in Germany already (and thus the terminals). But as I said earlier, no bank supports it yet. So if you're German and have a German bank you cannot put your credit crd in Apple Pay.
I cannot believe it. Finally after all those years.
PARTY
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sillert Avatar
87 months ago

So unless Apple can get the likes of Sparkasse,Volksbank,Postbank and DeutscheBank to join this won't get far.
Deutsche Bank is included in the list of banks that will support Apple Pay from start. And most younger people don't use Sparkasse anyways.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
friednoodles Avatar
87 months ago
Maybe Germany should start using credit cards first, still find myself having to pay cash like 90% of the time.

Same in Austria/Japan, anyone got some insight?
Well, credit cards can be used in major stores in Japan, but part of it is to do with the prevalence of IC (stored value) cards like Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, etc which have been providing widespread contactless payments for a lot longer than credit cards have in other countries. Contactless IC cards have been around for about 17 years, and their use for transit means a huge proportion of people in Japan have been using them for a long time. They have no barrier to entry (because they aren't a credit card), they're faster to use than credit cards, they're widely accepted for purchases in stores, vending machines, etc, and can be recharged via a credit card or bank account automatically anyway.

So the long term prevalence of IC cards means credit cards have been the ones trying to play catch up. Why would someone use a credit card in Japan when IC cards have been around longer and accepted in way more places? (the "credit" nature of credit cards was also probably a hard sell culturally by banks in Japan after the distrust created by the Japanese financial crisis of the 1990s)

And also years before the iPhone even existed, IC cards were already available on phones in Japan in the form of what's known as Osaifu-Keitai (i.e. mobile wallet) support. Japan was well ahead of other countries in mobile phone technology in the 1990s and early 2000s.

So basically, IC cards were there first and still provide superior convenience today. (edit: I should clarify that all of the above is talking about every day purchases like food, taxis, convenience stores, supermarkets, buses, trains, vendors, and so on - for expensive purchases like buying a TV or other electronics, paying for a hotel, etc, credit cards will almost always be accepted in those situations anyway)

If you visit Japan, do yourself a favour and pick up a Suica card, or if you have an iPhone 8 or Apple Watch Series 3 or above, you can just create one directly in Apple Pay using the Suica app. This is what I did a couple of weeks ago when I was lucky enough to be able to make another visit.

Suica has been available on Apple Pay for a few years (starting with the Japan-specific models of the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2), and it's proven incredibly popular there. Apple Pay also natively supports the recharge of Suica cards from any Apple Pay Visa, Mastercard or Amex card as well, making it particularly handy for inbound travellers.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
friednoodles Avatar
87 months ago
This is interesting. On my last trip to Japan I tried adding a (physical) Suica card to Apple Pay but couldn't get it to work. Later I read in the Apple support article that the device region needs to be set to Japan. But that is a huge hassle for international travelers because (among other things) it will disable credit cards from your home country in Apple Pay AFAIK. Is there any way around this?

Also, they really need to add some other languages to the Suica app ...
If you want to transfer a physical Suica card to Apple Pay you need to change the region temporarily so that the option shows up, but this has no impact on your credit cards from your home country - they won't be deleted or disabled.

Yes, it would be handy if they would provide an English localisation for the Suica app :D It is a deceptively large app if you enable the full account functions, but most people will use it just to create a new Suica, which is much easier. (by the way, if you want to use the app to create a new Suica card, you don't even need to change the region)

For people wanting to visit Japan and use Suica, it's much easier/quicker if you create a new card using the Suica app rather than transfer a physical card into Apple Pay. Unlike a credit card, because Suica and other IC cards are stored value and not necessarily attached to any account or owner, they can only exist in one place at a time, so transferring a physical card in to Apple Pay permanently disables the original physical card.

There's a very detailed guide that describes how to use all the functions of the Suica app for non-Japanese speakers over here: https://atadistance.net/all-about-suica-app/ It covers how to create a new card, along with much more complicated functionality that I think most foreigners should avoid unless you know some Japanese.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdellepi Avatar
87 months ago
Did you note that it will support Visa, Amex, Mastercard and Maestro (EC)? That should have more than most people covered.
Nope. Apart from American Express, that's not how it works.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)