Apple Pay, the company’s contactless payment service, will finally make its way across the Atlantic Ocean this summer.
The company is expected to make the announcement that Apple Pay is coming to Britain today, at its Worldwide Developers Conference, according to the Telegraph. It will then become available in two months.
The announcement will confirm many payment companies’ expectations that Apple Pay would be rolled-out in the UK this year. iZettle launched its contactless card reader last week showing that it expected the payment service to be released sooner rather than later.
Apple Pay appears to coming to Britain at the perfect time. Last week, Apple’s biggest rival, Samsung, has revealed that its own payment service, Samsung Pay, will not be released this summer in the US and Korea, meaning everything will be pushed back worldwide. This delay will allow Apple Pay to consolidate its popularity in key markets such as the UK.
Furthermore, as Apple Pay’s usage numbers are rapidly increasing in the US, a recent report by the UK Card Association has revealed that contactless payments in the UK have actually trebled in the past year to £2.32 billion, across 319 million transactions suggesting the timing to launch a new contactless payment service couldn’t be better.
MasterCard has already reportedly voiced their support and collaboration with Apple Pay. A senior executive at the company, Mike Cowan, said the company was “absolutely ready” to support Apple Pay in the UK.
“That’s one of the advantages of doing this on a global platform, it takes a couple of days.”
In a way Apple Pay has already made its way to the UK: Transport for London actually already accepts payments for travel from Americans visiting the UK.
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