Over 50% of UK Terminals Can Accept Limitless Apple Pay Payments

The latest move from Apple may soon lead to consumers leaving their wallets at home now that a majority of cash registers in the UK will be able to accept Apple Pay mobile payments over £30 ($52 CAD).

According to a report from The Telegraph, Jennifer Bailey, the head of Apple’s payment arm, said over half of contactless payment terminals in the country are now able to take Apple Pay transactions of any value.

Previously, most contactless card readers have adhered to the £30 upper limit, which is meant to prevent fraud when a pin isn’t used. However, Apple’s Touch ID approval system on iPhones and iPads provides the extra security to enable payments of any value.

“We think the majority of the contactless terminals [in the UK] are now limitless,” said Bailey. “Retailers now accepting the higher-value payments include supermarkets such as Waitrose and Sainsbury’s and restaurants including Pizza Express and Nando’s”

Apple Pay’s new ability to approve high-value payments could turn out to be a significant advantage over contactless cards, following some reports that mobile payments have struggled to gain traction among consumers. The mobile wallet also has to compete against rivals Android Pay and Samsung Pay.

However, Apple says Apple Pay transactions in the UK have grown by 300 percent in the last year, with 23 banks now supporting the service. “Our momentum has been fantastic. We’re really excited about the progress,” Bailey told The Telegraph.

According to Apple’s Apple Pay support document, “Merchants and card issuers set limits for some transactions,” which means in Canada “You might not be able to use Apple Pay for purchases over 100 CAD.”

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.