Apple Pay Plans to Launch in Canada This Fall

[Victorious Secret]

 

 

Apple is in talks with six Canadian banks for mobile payment service’s first venture outside the U.S.

 

 

It is about bloody time that Apple (or the Canadian banks, who tend to have a stick up their butts) got this going in a serious manner. Sure, a November release isn't that great, but its better progress for Canada than any other mobile based system that isn't locked to a carrier. 

Canada has had mobile payments for a while now, if you were with certain carriers. But that is stupid and dumb. Apple Pay, more so than Google Wallet, was the first real proposition that was carrier agnostic and just worked. Or should, if the banks don't screw this up. 

The Canadian banks want additional security placed on the system to ensure authenticity of the user who is adding their card to the Apple Pay system, which is actually great, but whether this delays the proceedings who knows, Its not even assured that all 6 banks will make the move. 

Being able to use Apple Pay however is something I'd switch banks for. When you have any amount of money, switching banks isn't a hassle. I'll transfer over my accounts to the bank that embraces the forward move. TD, I hope you get on board with this. 

I applaud the idea that I can just use my phone as my payment solution. Most days during work and school, I don't have my wallet on me. I do have my phone. If I can add up my AMEX, MasterCard and debit cards to my phone, I ain't even mad. thats very convenient for me, and I'd argue for a lot of people. 

 

Apple is making the push that Google should have made years ago, they should've taken this more seriously. Canada is a contactless payment heaven. I don't remember the last time I actually had to swipe a card. If only the regulatory agencies and banks got with the program already. 

 

 

The banks are open to an agreement, but they aren’t happy with Apple’s fee proposals and are concerned about security vulnerabilities like the ones that U.S. banks experienced as they rolled out the service, the people said.

 

Lenders in discussions with Apple include Royal Bank of Canada,Toronto-Dominion Bank,Bank of Nova Scotia,Bank of Montreal,Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada, the people said. Together, those banks account for more than 90% of retail bank accounts, which could provide Apple with near ubiquity upon launch if final agreements are reached.

 

At this stage, it is still uncertain whether all six banks will launch Apple Pay at the same time because talks are ongoing, those people added.

 

Canada is an attractive market for Apple Pay because of the high level of iPhone market share. Research firm Catalyst said iPhones account for about one-third of the Canadian smartphone market, compared with the iPhone’s roughly 20% share globally. Additionally, unlike in the U.S., the vast majority of Canadian merchants are already equipped with machines that accept contactless payments through near-field communication, a prerequisite for Apple Pay.

 

Apple introduced Apple Pay in October for the U.S. market. It allows owners of the latest iPhones to pay for items in stores by waving the device in front of a wireless reader. It has become the most popular service in the nascent but fast-growing mobile payments market. Apple said it accounted for two-thirds of all contactless payments on the three major credit card networks by late January.

 

 

 

 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-pay-plans-to-launch-in-canada-this-fall-1429280816

[C0LL0SS0S]

Nice that means that Europe will get in in 2 years from now

[DarrenP]

HELL YEAAH 

[Victorious Secret]

Nice that means that Europe will get in in 2 years from now

 

Don't be absurd. 

 

More like 4 years. 

 

They'll probably miss this year for Canada, if our governments ham fisted approach to modernization is anything to go by 

[C0LL0SS0S]

Don't be absurd. 

 

More like 4 years. 

 

They'll probably miss this year for Canada, if our governments ham fisted approach to modernization is anything to go by 

Sorry was all hyped and forgot brain, can't wait to get it in Austria, will just take 5 years and some law suits to get 1 bank working with it *_*

[Imabigmac]

I'm ready, I hope my bank (it's listed) is truly onboard

[Banana_Molester]

google better up their game

[mr moose]

Don't be absurd. 

 

More like 4 years. 

 

They'll probably miss this year for Canada, if our governments ham fisted approach to modernization is anything to go by 

 

Compare that to Australia where the banks where so impatient for it they all created NFC stickers you put on the back of your phone so even a dumb phone could be used to pay and go.

 

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!

[TroubleKlef]

I actually passed by a gas station who used real estate on their giant gas sign to promote they accepted Apple Pay. Was in awe the influence of Apple Pay has had on NFC based payments. 

[nims0c]

I wish I had an iPhone capable of Apple Pay.

[Keco185]

The reason Apple Pay was so quickly adopted in the US was that Apple picked a good time to roll out the service. US merchants were all updating their pay terminals to newer versions capable of chip and pin technologies, and by having Apple Pay as another feature available to those who got terminals with NFC, many vendors jumped on the idea.  In other countries, they already have fairly new payment technologies in place and so they aren't doing a massive update anytime soon. This makes the rollout of Apple Pay harder for those where NFC is not common. Banks also stand in the way as they are new to the idea of Apple Pay and might not accept it right away. It's great to see that at least Apple Pay is starting to move out of the US and bring us to the same level of NFC payments that Japan was at five years ago.