This could be the strongest confirmation Apple Pay is coming to Canada—according to The Wall Street Journal, the mobile payment service is said to launch this fall, marking the first time the service would launch internationally:
Apple Inc. is planning to launch its mobile payments service in Canada this fall, marking the start of its international expansion of Apple Pay, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company is in negotiations with Canada’s six biggest banks about a potential November launch of the service which would enable mobile payments for both credit and debit cards using iPhones and the forthcoming Apple Watch, those people said.
Sources say Apple is in talks with Canada’s biggest banks: Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada, which accounts for over 90% of retail bank accounts.
Delays in negotiations are said to involve Apple’s fee proposals and potential security vulnerabilities some U.S. banks faced during rollout (in other words, banks not confirming identity fraud). These banks are also worried about Apple Pay’s “onerous” commercial agreements say sources, as potential higher costs could be incurred versus U.S. banks. One source cites a 15 to 25 basis points on credit card transactions to Apple for Canadian banks, versus 15 basis points in the U.S.
However, these ‘Big Six’ banks have collaborated together and hired McKinsey & Co., a consultancy firm to create a security protocol for Apple Pay, say sources, which could help them leverage discussions with Apple.
Canadian banks want Apple Pay to have “secondary authentication” to verify a customer’s identity before credit cards can be used on Apple Pay, meaning one extra tedious step to setup the service and potentially a higher cost for financial institutions.
People familiar with the matter say talks are ongoing and it’s uncertain all six banks will debut Apple Pay at the same time.
This is by far the biggest confirmation Apple Pay is in the works for Canada, as previous rumours cited a March launch but never materialized. Apple Pay is a crucial feature missing for Canadians using the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and soon Apple Watch, set to arrive next week for initial pre-orders.
If Apple Pay were to arrive in the fall, it would make sense for the announcement to come during Apple’s next iPhone special event. Are you excited for Apple Pay in Canada? Some eager Canadians are already using the service unofficially here with their approved U.S. credit cards, as most point-of-sale terminals here already support NFC, which is a requirement to support Apple Pay.
…more to follow
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Bout time!!! Guess bank fees will go up again.
Convenience comes at a price…
C’mon c’mon, lets do it. I’m tired of having to pull out my plastic in front of my American friends. Its embarrassing.
Lol
Too funny..
The horror!
Apple in negotiations…. Blah blah blah. Sounds like a re-barfed story from the past. No way will Canada’s bank let Apple in. Not going to happen but I would have loved to use Apple Pay. Pay by iPhone and go. Simple. Would have loved that.
This time it’s a scoop from a Canadian journalist working for the WSJ, with actual banks named in the negotiations and specific details. While we don’t know if Apple Pay will launch here, this is new info.
You’re speaking non-sense, the CEO’s of BMO, TD and Tangerine/Scotiabank know that it’s all about technology and what the consumer wants. They know that iPhone owners are wealthier (not my numbers, research says that) and therefore are bigger spenders. If only one bank decides to jump on this occasion to support Apple Pay in Canada, they know that people would sign up for credit cards issued by them and possibly even transfer their bank accounts.A new report by BMO Economics suggests that young Canadians, specifically those between 25 and 34 years old, are on average richer than their parents were at that age. The report also says that the median net worth of households headed by someone aged 25 to 34 years was $52,000 in 2012. The ROI is high on the short and long-run.
It has nothing to do with “iPhone owners are wealthier”. It has everything to do with negotiating the fee Canadian banks will have to pay Apple. If the fee is to high, the banks won’t allow it in Canada. Google it. Do some research. Read what the banks were saying when Apple Pay was first introduced.
I don’t need to Google rumors, when I can just use logic and simple business theories.
Any bank will sacrifice a couple pennies less in profit in order to have more credit card spending (more profit), more credit card signups (less people using debit/cash=more profit again), and more customers moving their money from another bank that doesn’t support ApplePay (bank growing faster and having a bigger lending power=more profits yet again).
The problem with just using logic when you don’t know much about the issue is that people tend to over simplify the problem according to what they know. You logic is missing important issues which have been brought up by the banks themselves, as Zeke said, which make it more complicated than just this. Otherwise if it was this simple Apple pay would likely already be here. Anyways, I think we all agree it would be great it Apple pay came to Canada.
There are two problem and reasons why apple pay is not here yet and it’s not because of what you guys are referring to. It’s because of the tightly regulated banking system in Canada and because of the Interac system. You can go back to googling rumours now.
MGSayah: “You can go back to googling rumours now”.
Zeke: “Read what the banks were saying when Apple Pay was first introduced”.
Sara: “important issues which have been brought up by the banks themselves”.
I don’t see how obtaining information from the actual banks is googling rumours. Unless you are claiming that the banks are starting rumours about themselves. I do agree with the added complexity you mentioned about tight regulation, etc.
Have held off buying the 6 and not much interest in the watch until apple pay is available..
Glad to see debit included vs credit only. Debit NFC is widespread here already vs the traditional credit NFC being used in the USA. I don’t want to be charging every little transaction I traditionally use tap for now to a credit card when my debit card sits unused in my wallet – I’d simply not use the feature in that case.
I’m the opposite. I use my credit card for absolutely everything, even a 99¢ bottle of water. I earn hundreds of dollars in free travel credit every year because of it. Plus, it’s safer than debit. If someone hacks a debit card, the actual cash is gone from your account and you’re out of pocket until it’s confirmed to be fruad. With CC, you dispute the charge and the onus is on the merchant to prove the charge is valid, which they obviously can’t. Not to mention of course, it means my money sits in my account for an extra month earning interest until my CC is due.
you are quite right. You have WAY MORE protection with a credit card since, by law, they have to have your SIGNATURE, which they obviously don’t have if done electronically, and you get to keep the money (and add airmiles or points if set up that way) for up to almost a month before it’s taken out of your account. I never use debit cards and got thousands of dollars back from fraudulent eBay (and other) sellers over they years.
I’m actually afraid about the debit part.
Right now we all use Interac (a non profit company where the cost of each transaction is 0.006, or something in that area) adding 0.0015 to that is a fairly big deal and might allow banks to charge a higher fee for apple pay?
I actually can’t wait and been surprised how long it has taken. Hoping fall will officially be the launch of Apple Pay. Would love for them to surprise us during June’s WWDC that it is now available…..NOW!
I have my TD Bank (US) chequing account Visa debit set up on Apple Pay. Everytime I go to any retail outlet with my phone in my hand, it pops up on the screen. 🙂
I’d like to think it’s inevitable that Apple Pay will launch here. While the banks will try to squeeze every penny out of it they can, they’ve all tried their own proprietary mobile wallets, and none have had any real traction.
My two main cards are Amex and Cap One Aspire MC. I hope they’ll also jump on board, especially given they both offer Apple Pay in the US.
Did u get the account in Canada or the U.S.
I opened an “Everyday Savings” locally with TD Canada Trust, then opened the US TD Bank account all online. Did a wire transfer (free) from the Canadian savings to the US to fund it.
I don’t bank with TDCT so I opened the savings account because it has no fees and gives one free withdrawal per month. Not much, but enough to fund the US account when I need to.
Yah but I was told u don’t get a card , so how could i use for Apple pay??
You were told incorrectly. During the account setup online, you just check “yes” you want a debit card. I got a Visa debit card for my US account in the mail a couple of weeks after I opened the account. The only requirement is that you fund the account first. As soon as there’s money in it, they send the card.
Thanks
I can’t wait for this.
I’ve been pretty tempted to open a US account just so I could use it! I was really hoping that the March rumours were true!
I really want this to happen! Interac Flash is pretty common these days, so the moment ApplePay goes live in Canada, there are a TON of places to use it! 😀
Yeah but when is my iTunes Radio coming to Canada. Hahaha
Now you’re just being greedy! 😉
Guaranteed, the dinosaur CRTC is a major roadblock.
Actually, not. The CRTC has nothing to do with it. It’s the greedy rights holders in Canada most likely. They tend to ask far more for the rights to music/movies in Canada than most other countries. It’s the reason Spotify took so long to come here, and the reason we still don’t have Pandora.
No info for Desjardins, the Largest in Québec ??
Quack
I can wait. November means summer is over.
What about Interact and debit cards ?
It really deserves to come to Australia also. Nearly every shop in Sydney has NFC terminals. It would be perfect.