Apple Pay is coming to Scandinavia and the Middle East
Apple Pay will be available in Scandinavia and the Middle East for the first time.
The digital wallet will be rolled out in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sweden and Denmark later this year, TechCrunch reported. The announcement was made during Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) second-quarter 2017 earnings call.
No date for the rollout was announced and no specific financial institutions were announced. If that prediction comes true Apple Pay will be available in 19 countries and two new regions.
The UAE would be the first Middle Eastern country for Apple Pay. A rollout there is a very smart move because the country attracts visitors from all over the world. The UAE will also be the first Arabic-speaking nation; and the first Islamic country, where Apple Pay is available. A successful rollout there can serve as a template for a premiere in Saudi Arabia or Indonesia.
Apple Pay’s rollouts in those nations will put pressure on Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) to roll Android Pay out in those countries. So far Apple Pay appears to be the only American digital wallet available in the UAE, Denmark and Sweden.
Two new Japanese banks, one Canadian bank, one Australian bank and one British bank are now supporting Apple Pay. Apple has been having a hard time signing up non-American banks for its payment solution. Unfortunately TechCrunch did not name those financial institutions.
Peer to Peer Payments for iPhone and iPad planned
The next version of iOS for iPhone and iPad will have a peer to peer payments option. That feature which will probably be known as Apple Pay Cash is supposed to be able to accessible via iMessages.
Apple Pay might also contain a mini iMessages feature in the future, TechCrunch reported. The idea behind this feature is to make it easier to send and receive money via Apple Pay Cash.
Android Pay Arrives in Spain
Android Pay has been rolled out in Spain, Mobile Payments Today reported. The digital wallet will be supported by one bank; BBVA, in the country but will be accepted at one million businesses in the country.
Being available in Spain is an important step for Android Pay; because it can serve as a template for availability in other Spanish-speaking nations – which includes most of Latin America. Also important is the fact that Spain is a Eurozone nation, if Android Pay can be rolled out there it might soon come to the European Union’s largest economy; Germany.
It looks as if mobile payments are slowly but surely being accepted worldwide. Expect to see them everywhere in just a few short years.
