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Apple Pay

926 'Apple Pay' stories April 2013 - July 2025
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Apple Pay is Apple’s mobile payments solution that allows users to seamlessly use their phone to pay for purchases both in retail stores, apps, and the web. The service was first introduced in 2014 and has been expanding to additional countries ever since then.

The service works in retail stores by simply holding your iPhone over a compatible checkout terminal and authenticating the purchase via Touch ID, or your Apple Watch with no further authentication required once you have unlocked the Watch. It’ss compatible with all iPhones from 6/6 Plus and and beyond, and all versions of Apple Watch.

In apps, it works by pulling in your card information and seamlessly allowing you to checkout using that card information. This prevents you from having to manually enter your card information every time you want to make a purchase. In addition to working with all of the iPhone models previously mentioned, Apple Pay in apps also works on iPads from the iPad mini 3 and Air 2 and beyond. Apple Pay is supported on the Mac and on the web with iOS 10 and macOS Sierra and beyond.

In addition to working with debit and credit cards, Apple Pay also works with rewards cards and store cards. This means that you can add something like your Starbucks card, Walgreens Balance Rewards card, and more to the Wallet app to easily keep track of everything.

To set up Apple Pay on an iPhone, open the Wallet app on iOS 11 and tap the plus (+) icon in the top right corner to begin, then follow the prompts. To add a debit card to the Apple Watch, go to the Apple Watch app on iPhone and look for the Wallet & Apple Pay section, then Add Credit or Debit Card section.

Apple Pay is the dominant mobile payments solution, even forcing its biggest potential competitor to shutdown, and as the service continues to expand, it will only get better. View the full list of retailers and banks that support the service on Apple’s website

Apple Pay is available in the following countries (click the country name to see compatible banks):

Australia

China*

Hong Kong

Japan

Kazakhstan

New Zealand

Singapore

Taiwan

Belgium

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Guernsey

Ireland

Isle of Man

Italy

Jersey

Monaco

Norway

Poland

Russia

San Marino

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Vatican City

Brazil

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Canada

The United States

Brazil’s antitrust watchdog says Apple must face penalties over App Store restrictions [U]

Avatar for Marcus Mendes Jul 1 2025 - 5:04 am PT
0 Comments

Apple’s week is off to a rough start. First, Proton filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. Almost simultaneously, a judge in New Jersey rejected Apple’s attempt to dismiss a federal antitrust case.

And on Monday night, things got a little worse: CADE, Brazil’s antitrust watchdog, formally recommended that Apple be sanctioned for the “imposition of the exclusive use of its payment system by app developers and the restriction on the distribution and commercialization of third-party digital services.”

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Apple announces major expansion of Tap to Pay on iPhone

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 18 2025 - 3:48 am PT
2 Comments
Apple announces major expansion of Tap to Pay on iPhone | iPhone-to-iPhone payment shown

Tap to Pay on iPhone is the ultimate in convenience for small businesses looking to accept contactless payment from both mobile wallets and physical cards, and from today it’s available in nine more countries.

It allows retailers to accept contactless payment using only their iPhone, with no separate mobile terminal or card reader required …

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The X Everything App will launch this year, aiming to compete with Apple Pay

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jan 29 2025 - 7:00 am PT
48 Comments
The X Everything App will launch this year, and compete with Apple Pay | X logo with a bag of cash

When Elon Musk bought Twitter, one of his many controversial decisions was to rebrand the company and social network platform as X. He said at the time that the purchase was “as an accelerant for X, the everything app” – aka a western clone of China’s WeChat.

Part of this vision includes becoming a mobile payment platform to compete with Apple Pay, and the company’s CEO today said part of this functionality will launch later this year …

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Apple Pay now offers ‘pay over time’ with Synchrony [U: Removed]

Avatar for Ryan Christoffel Jan 10 2025 - 11:53 am PT
4 Comments
Apple Pay

Following the abrupt discontinuation of Apple Pay Later over the summer, Apple has been rolling out support for multiple third-party ‘pay over time’ alternatives. The latest Apple Pay addition: Synchrony.

Update: Aaron Perris, who first noticed Synchrony had been added by Apple, now notes that all references to the provider have been removed from Apple’s support document. As Perris notes, “Looks like someone published the support document too early.”

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Apple will now be treated like a bank, says US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Nov 21 2024 - 4:09 am PT
11 Comments
Apple will now be treated like a bank, says US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | In-store Apple Pay transaction on Square terminal

The popularity of Apple Pay will now see the Cupertino company regulated by the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a watchdog whose role is normally limited to banks and financial services companies.

The decision means that the bureau will have the power to monitor and regulate Apple’s policies and practices in regard to its mobile wallet services …

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Tap to Pay on iPhone expands to more countries

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Oct 29 2024 - 2:27 am PT
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Tap to Pay Apple iPhone

This morning, Apple announced that Tap to Pay on iPhone is rolling out to more markets, with five new countries across Europe.

Tap to Pay on the iPhone is the feature where businesses can use an iPhone as a contactless terminal to accept payments. The customer simply holds their contactless card, or iPhone or Watch, near the merchant’s iPhone to complete the payment using NFC chip inside the iPhone.

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Home Depot quietly begins rolling out Apple Pay support

Avatar for Chance Miller Oct 8 2024 - 8:14 am PT
45 Comments

Just a few hours ago, I wrote about H-E-B finally caving to the pressure and rolling out Apple Pay to all of its locations. As it turns out, H-E-B isn’t alone in this change. According to multiple 9to5Mac readers and reports across social media, Home Depot has also recently started rolling out Apple Pay support.

Update October 9, 2024: Home Depot spokesperson Beth Marlowe confirmed this news in a statement to 9to5Mac:

“We have begun rolling out contactless as a payment option in our U.S. stores. We anticipate the rollout will be completed to most of our stores and registers later this year.”

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Apple Pay now integrates with Affirm on iOS 18 following ‘Apple Pay Later’ discontinuation

Avatar for Zac Hall Sep 16 2024 - 10:36 am PT
3 Comments

Remember Apple Pay Later? The buy-now-pay-later service from Apple barely launched before the company decided to nerf it. Replacing Apple’s BNPL option is integration with more widely available options. As of today, the popular BNPL service from Affirm is available as an option for qualified iOS 18 users when checking out with Apple Pay.

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