Apple is working to bring Apple Pay to more markets in Asia and Europe, Jennifer Bailey, VP of Apple Pay said in an interview with TechCrunch.
“We’re working rapidly in Asia and also in Europe, our goal is to have Apple Pay in every significant market Apple is in,” Bailey told us. “We have announced Hong Kong [and], across the [Asia Pacific] region, we’re talking to many partners and banks and evaluating how quickly we can bring Apple Pay to new markets,” former Netscape exec Bailey said.
Recently, Apple Pay gained support from five major banks in Singapore, alongside Visa and MasterCard, and now covers over 80% of cards, she said. The mobile payments service is currently live in six countries: the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, China, and Singapore.
While Apple announced that it will expand its payments service to more markets, including Hong Kong, this year, it’s unclear which markets it will target next. However, the word on the street is that France and Brazil are also on the list for this year, and Tim Cook suggested that India could be as well, although contactless acceptance is kind of low there. That isn’t the case with European countries, however.
“First, we look at the size of the market for Apple products,” she said. “We also look at credit and debit card penetration, and [existing] contactless payment coverage.
“[But] when we bring Apple Pay to market even when contactless is low it will grow — it was 4 percent in the U.S. but is now 20 percent. We also work with our network partners, where we can utilize integration with Amex and Visa, to go to market quickly.”
Bailey said she is “really excited about the momentum” Apple Pay has seen in the six markets where it is already live. Earlier this month Apple cracked the resistance of Canadian banks, which added support for Apple Pay. Those who haven’t jumped on board yet have reassured their customers that support for Apple Pay is coming soon.
