Apple Pay has arrived in Singapore, making it the sixth country to support the mPayment platform, which is also available in Australia, Canada, China, the UK, and the US, where it initially launched.
As in Canada and Australia, the platform is currently only compatible with American Express cards, which can be issued by that financial services company itself, bypassing regional banking systems. While that’s a considerable limitation—Mashable cites IDC Asia-Pacific data indicating that Amex cards comprise only five percent of the country’s payment cards—it’s also a foot in the door, and could help to pressure other card issuers to get on board.
Indeed, there are indications that at least some of Australia’s banks, which had initially appeared intransigent in their opposition to Apple Pay, may soon support the service. For Apple Pay’s part, company head Jennifer Bailey has reportedly asserted that “credit and debit cards from Singapore’s most popular banks, including DSB, UOB, and Standard Chartered will work with Apple Pay in the coming months”.
Meanwhile, mPayment rival Samsung Pay is already in operation in Singapore too, though only for bus and train ticket purchases. There’s plenty of room for all of the major platforms to grow in the country in the months to come.
UPDATE: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Android Pay is available in Singapore; the article has since been corrected accordingly.
Follow Us