Apple Pay launches in Spain

Apple Pay launches in Spain with support from Banco Santander
HOLA APPLE PAY: Payments service launches in Spain with support from Banco Santander

Apple Pay has been officially launched in Spain, with Apple developing partnerships with Banco Santander, payment giants American Express and Mastercard, retailer Carrefour and prepaid meal payment service Ticket Restaurant.

Spain becomes the thirteenth country where the mobile payments service has been made available, after news of the launch was rumoured in Spanish website Applesfera.

“Apple Pay shows we are committed to collaborate and to bring innovation and new technology to our customers to make their payments easier, faster and more secure,” says Rami Aboukhair from Banco Santander. “We are convinced our customers will love it.”

“In Spain we have seen contactless transactions increase by 145% from Q3 2015 to Q3 2016,” says Mastercard’s Ovidio Egido.

“We are very pleased that Mastercard cardholders will be able to make easy and private payments with Apple Pay in Spain.”

The launch in Spain comes as Apple Pay becomes available for HSBC Singapore customers holding Visa and MasterCard credit cards.

It went live in Japan in October, enabling local iPhone and Apple Watch users to make payments in stores and on public transportation services that support the widely used Sony FeliCa-based Japanese NFC payments system.

Customers of Banco Santander were able to make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using their NFC devices and the Santander Wallet mobile app in April.

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