Apple Pay is the company’s mobile payment service that lets users with iPhones and the Apple Watch to make transactions at retail outlets and even online without requiring the use of a physical card. Launched last year, the service doesn’t require the use of an Apple specific payment terminal. Today at WWDC, the company announced that it now supports over 2500 banks from across America. It will also start supporting Discover based cards later this year which will bring an additional 50 million cards into the fold.
Apple announced that there are over 1 million locations supporting the payment service already. Square, the popular phone based card scanning terminal will add support for Apple Pay and will launch a new reader to work with it later this year. In addition, developers have noticed a 2x conversion rate when using the service for payments. To emphasize their point, Apple revealed that Pinterest will be launching Buyable pins in their app that will work exclusive via Apple Pay.
The service has been relegated to the North American market so far but starting July, customers in UK will also be able to use it. Apple will be working with 8 banks at launch with additional banks added over time. 250,000 locations including the London transportation system will be supported at initial launch allowing you to effortlessly use Apple Pay for contactless payments. Store cards that add points on purchases will also be supported with select brands later this year. On that note, to keep up with the increased functionality, Passbook on iOS will be renamed as Wallet which will now be a single place for your boarding passes, loyalty cards and credit cards.