Apple Pay Expands European, Digital Banking Presence

“Meanwhile, in the UK, the app is now also supported by Monzo, a mobile-focused digital banking organization.”

Apple’s biometrically secured mobile wallet has made it to Ukraine, fulfilling a promise made by Apple CEO Tim Cook in the company’s recent quarterly earnings call. Apple Pay can now support payment cards from PrivatBank, the country’s biggest commercial bank.

It’s the continuation of Apple Pay’s expansion across Europe, with the platform having arrived in the Scandinavian market last October. Next in line are Norway and Poland, as per Cook’s recent forecast for the platform.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the app is now also supported by Monzo, a mobile-focused digital banking organization. Given Monzo’s mobile focus, its support is evidently hotly anticipated among its user base: As TechCrunch reports, there have been over 2,000 mentions of Apple Pay on Monzo’s user forum, and the company has seen over 13,000 inquiries about Apple’s mobile wallet through its customer support channel.

If the kind of mobile banking offered by Monzo really is the future of financial services as many believe, that bodes well for Apple Pay, whose approach to payments parallels Monzo’s take on banking. In any case, the two are a good fit, and a great many Monzo users will feel it’s about time that Apple Pay support has arrived.

Sources: TechCrunch, 9to5Mac