Coming next month, iPhone users in the UK will be able to pay on-the-go using their devices, thanks to the new service Apple Pay. It has been available only in the United States since its launch, last October, and now Apple has decided to expand it and chose the UK as first european market. The news were announced during the kick-off on Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), taking place this week in San Francisco.
"We're bringing Apple Pay to the UK, and it's coming next month!", Apple Pay executive Jennifer Bailey revealed in San Francisco this evening.
"A lot of banks are already onboard, including Santander, HSBC and Lloyds, representing 70% of all credit and debit cards in use right now.
Bailey also announced that the payment option will be available in 250,000 throughout the UK, which is "more than what we started with in the US," she added.
Out of the first vendors she announced, Marks & Spencer and the London Transportation System are included. "Passengers will be able to pay for tickets," she announced.
The system works in iPhone from the 5S up - because it needs the fingerprint sensor, to recognise the user and authorise the purchase. It is connected to the credit or debit card of choice, as long as the card issuer is onboard with the system.
Then, at checkout, the user accesses the app, places the phone on a scanner and authorises it with the fingerprint. No details are stored inside the app, so in the event of a loss or robbery, no one can use Apple Pay to pay for anything.
Bailey also revealed that the app will now offer storage for loyalty and store cards for the likes of Walgreens and Dunkin Donuts, which means users no longer will have to carry them or input phone numbers to access them.
In the US, Apple is adding Discover's cards this fall, and a number of new retail locations, such as Trader Joe's, JC Penneys and BevMo. It will add up to 25 banks and one million locations in the U.S. by the Fall. Apple is also working with Pinterest for "buyable pins,"that allow users to buy directly from stores like Macy's.
"We have been hard at work in our mission to end the need for wallets," Bailey had announced. The worldwide expansion starts here, in the UK.
