Apple pay is a long awaited service that will soon take over all the corners of the world, making payment procedures easier, people more comfortable with debts and transactions and mobile devices more efficient.
Payment providers along with retailers are embracing the launch of Apple Pay in UK markets, aiming to transform payments into a very intuitive, secure and private way of proceeding.
MasterCard already announced that it will offer customers’ access to Apple Pay and consequently that it has built a foundation for secure mobile transactions, allowing customers to use their cards exactly how and where they want, with a seamless payment experience. Privacy is of course the top requirement in the online payment business and Apple sure has to provide it to the highest level.
MasterCard allows users, consumers and merchant, to embrace the Apple Pay system, thus making transactions easy for each and every iPhone t, iPhone 6 Plus or Apple Watch owner. Yes, the system only works for the latest devices launched by Apple, probably updating the old ones as well, but that takes some time in the making.
The first day of Apple’s annual conference unveiled some serious pieces of information, with Apple Pay being one of the substantial news. This feature will add support for cards from eight UK banks, namely First Direct, HSBC, NatWest, NationWide Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank and Santander. The procedure will be entirely activated on all banking channels starting with the next month. On the waiting list we still have a handful of banks like Coutts, MBNA, Halifax, M&S Bank TSB and Lloyds Bank that will join Apple Pay starting this autumn.
Still, there are some financial entities that are a bit reluctant to the new payment system, such as Barclays Bank in London that already has a strong contactless and mobile payment set of services. It seems that bank representatives are still debating the update, with a clear decision to be made soon.
Apple Pay will entirely roll out in the UK starting with July and it will support a much more extended list of banks and more than 250.000 merchant locations. Even more than that, the London Transportation system will open its gates to use the Apple Pay system in support of travel fare.
Yes, this seems to be a pretty good and comfortable idea for all the Apple users out there, but what happens if we want or need to proceed with a payment and we lose reception on our mobile phones? That’s what the downfall of this service depends on, as we must be sure that we always have enough battery power or internet resources to support a service that has ups along with downs, nevertheless.
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