Apple Pay is coming to the UK, and has many retailers and major banks on board. Starting next month, brits will be able to use their iPhones to pay for goods and services in-store with about 250,000 participating merchants.
The service is set to launch next month, with 19 high street stores, 24 apps, and most major banks in the UK signed up to provide the payment option. The one major holdout so far is Barclays; the major banking institution is reluctant to get onside with Apple Pay due to perceptions that the mPayment platform could quickly unravel the bank’s own Pingit money transfer system, but is still negotiating with Apple. Ultimately it’s in both companies’ interest to come to an agreement, so it’s mostly a matter of when and on what terms Barclays will join the fold.
The Apple Pay expansion reflects Apple’s efforts to ramp up its already-strong presence in the mPayment field in anticipation of the entry of major new competitors this year – most notably Android Pay and Samsung Pay.. Market analysts generally agree that Apple has almost single-handedly pioneered the mass market adoption of mobile payment, and that has ironically now enabled its competitors to vie for marketshare with their own offerings. There are rumours of further enhancements to Apple Pay such as a rewards program that could debut later on, so in the end the competition seems likely to benefit consumers at the very least.
Source: The Telegraph
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