Apple Pay is already available in the Canadian market, but MasterCard integration could foreshadow support from large card-issuing financial institutions which is currently missing in the limited American Express partnership.
Users in Canada can currently link first-party AmEx cards with their Apple Pay account, but not those co-branded cards like those offered through big banks like BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD.
Beyond Canada, MasterCard is reportedly eyeing rollouts in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore, all markets where touchless payment systems are well entrenched. In addition, the credit card company is looking to debut Apple Pay in Brazil, a booming marketplace for Apple products.
Apple last year announced Apple Pay would launch in in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Spain sometime in 2016, but failed to disclose details on the matter. It is possible that the company was referring to the reported MasterCard partnership.
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Sweet
You know Visa will follow shortly too, if MasterCard does it, they’ll want to be competitive.
Totally. It would make sense if big banks announced first with Visa/MC support, then slowly merchant cards.
I don’t know how many articles I’ve read here indicating that Apple Pay is around the corner.
Fair point, but everything is starting to align, particularly Interac in iOS code and Interac tokenization annoucement.
I wish it was true. Unfortunately unless Apple and the Canadian banks come to an agreement all the test code in the world is not going to make a difference. I hope I am wrong.
You’re not wrong, they have to come to an agreement. Let’s just hope they come to that agreement before the March event.
It’ll be amazing 🙂 ?
Like others on MR had pointed out though, MasterCard doesn’t actually issue the cards in Canada. They simply process the payments.
what about diners club???? 😉
YUP…the 60’s want their credit card back 🙂
Discover?
CIBC shows that revised TOS take effect Apr 1. Perhaps this is when we may see Apple Pay?
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! I use my MC all the time since they got a good ROI with CT points! 🙂