iPhones have come equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology since the iPhone 6 launched in 2014. NFC's primary use in the iPhone is for Apple Pay and allows contactless payments via supported merchants at the point of sale.
On the other hand, well-known jailbreak developer Elias Limneos was tinkering with iPhone NFC on his spare time and managed to hack it to work in ways that are typically locked off by Apple out of the box.
Apple has officially launched its mobile payments service in Italy, a 61 million people country and the third-largest national economy in the Eurozone. Apple Pay launched in the country with initial support for Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards issued by Carrefour and UniCredit, as well as Boon prepay.
Boon is a European prepaid service and app that lets users conduct transactions at all point of sale terminals that accept MasterCard contactless payments. Boon customers are currently allowed to register prepaid MasterCard cards with Apple Pay.
According to Apple's website, support for additional banks will be added later this year.
Some of the official partners listed on Apple's website included merchants and companies such as Auchan, Autogrill, Eataly, LaGardenia, H&M, Leroy Merlin, Limoni, OVS, Simply Market, Unieuro and more.
After registering their card with Apple Pay by tapping Add Credit or Debit Card in the Wallet app on any iOS device with iOS 8.1 or later, Visa and MasterCard holders can start using the service to pay for their purchases in stores, within apps and on supported websites via their iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Touch ID-enabled Mac.
The service could soon launch in Belgium and South Korea, circumstantial evidence suggests.
Last month, Apple Pay launched in Taiwan.
Apple's mobile payments service is currently available in these 16 markets:
Australia Canada China France Hong Kong Ireland Italy Japan New Zealand Russia Singapore Spain Switzerland Taiwan United Kingdom United StatesVisit the iOS Feature Availability webpage for the full, continually updated list of countries, banks, credit unions and other financial institutions that currently support Apple Pay.
In related news, Apple Pay in the US added support for more than two dozen new financial institutions earlier today. Additionally, Liaoning Rural Credit Cooperatives in Mainland China now supports Apple Pay, too.
According to Recode, the Cupertino giant is secretly developing a peer-to-peer service for transferring cash digitally between friends, plus virtual prepaid cards that would run on Visa’s debit network and work with Apple Pay.
Oil giant ExxonMobil introduced basic Apple Pay support within its mobile Speedpass+ app in March 2016, allowing customers to pay for fuel at approximately 6,000 gas stations nationwide. Yesterday, the company announced that customers can now pay for fuel and car washes using their Apple Watch and Apple Pay at over 10,000 Exxon and Mobil refueling stations across the United States.
Users must launch the Speedpass+ app on their watch and select the pump they're at to authorize it for payment. Next, press the Side button twice to invoke Apple Pay and approve the payment. You can start fueling up your vehicle.
Other new features available within the app include support for Touch ID app protection and Ford vehicles equipped with SYNC 3 technology to easily authorize payments, making it the first fuel payment connected car app in the United States.
Ford owners can additionally use the Speedpass+ app to check how much fuel is left in the tank when they are away from their car. Customers even have the option to apply for an ExxonMobil-branded credit card issued by Citibank from inside the app.
Once your application has been approved, the card will be automatically added as a payment option within the app, and you can start using it right away. For a limited time, new accounts shall receive a savings of 20 cents per gallon for the first two months, then six cents on every gallon after that, the company said.
ExxonMobil's app now supports several payment methods, including major credit cards, debit cards, ExxonMobil Smart Cards, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
ExxonMobile Speedpass+ for iOS is available for free on App Store.
Sources speaking with Recode reiterated today that Apple is still planning to debut its own money-transfer service akin to PayPal's Venmo that could launch later this year. Tentatively named Apple Cash, the peer-to-peer service would zap payments from users' checking accounts to recipients through their Apple devices, basically allowing iPhone owners to send cash to friends and family members digitally.
The Cupertino giant could partner with Visa on a system that would let users obtain virtual Apple-branded prepaid cards. Running on Visa's debit network, those digital cards could be tied directly into the firm's rumored peer-to-peer thing.
Moreover, users would be permitted to register them with Apple Pay to use when making credit-card and debit-card payments in stores with their Apple devices. The card number could also be used to make purchases on websites and in apps.
As noted on Apple's website, the Apple Pay mobile payment service is now available to customers in Taiwan. Financial institutions supporting the service include Cathay United Bank, CTBC Bank, E. Sun Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank and Union Bank of Taiwan.
Apple Pay has officially expanded to Ireland today for customers of KBC and Ulster Bank, two of the country's big four banking institutions. The service also works with EU's Boon prepay system tied to MasterCard. Irish customers who register their Visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards via the Wallet app can start using the service to pay securely for goods in “tens of thousands” of stores, including Aldi, Boots, Burger King, Harvey Norman and Lidl.
Apple Pay is also supported in compatible apps and on some websites. The Cupertino company has added related Apple Pay details to its regional website in Italy, signaling an imminent launch in the 60 million people market. Also, major banks have recently gained regulatory approval to launch Apple's payments service in Taiwan.
If you’ve ever used Apple Pay before, then you’re likely familiar with the visually-appealing Touch ID animation that appears on the Lock screen when accessing it.
Now if you've ever thought to yourself that this animation would be nice to look at when unlocking your device, then a new free jailbreak tweak called LockGlyphX by evilgoldfish is just what you've been looking for.
In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can remove your credit card or other payment method information from Safari, Apple ID, and Apple Pay on your iPhone or iPad.
Apple today published a new commercial on its Japanese YouTube channel, titled ”Race”.
The 30-second television spot is all about iPhone 7, which in Japan comes with a special chip supporting Sony-developed FeliCa mobile payments technology.
With FeliCa support, folk in Japan can buy tickets via Apple Pay at terminals supporting Suica, QUICPay or iD. Apple Pay launched in Japan at the end of October 2016.
ChargePoint operates the world’s largest electric vehicle charging network. As of today, ChargePoint's electric vehicle stations in the U.S. can be found through Apple Maps, as reported by 9to5Mac. And because ChargePoint accepts Apple Pay, users can even initiate charging via Apple Maps and complete their payment with a touch of a finger.
ChargePoint locations appear on the map as badges that can be tapped to reveal information like business hours, pricing, whether or not they accept Apple Pay at that particular location and more.
Apple's official mobile shopping app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch was refreshed Friday with a pair of new features adding rich notification support on iOS 10 and buying accessories from Favorites with Apple Pay using one-tap authorization on your wrist via your Apple Watch.
Grab the Apple Store app at no charge from the App Store.
Apple Pay today launched in Spain, the thirteenth market for the mobile payments service since its inception more than two years ago. According to Apple's website and the official Apple Pay support document, the service is available in the 46 million people country with launch support for debit and credit cards from Banco de Santander, Carrefour, Ticket Restaurant and American Express.