Apple plans to launch mobile payments service in Canada

Apple plans to launch mobile payments service in Canada

PanARMENIAN.Net - Apple Inc. is planning to launch its mobile payments service in Canada this fall, marking the start of its international expansion of Apple Pay, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company is in negotiations with Canada’s six biggest banks about a potential November launch of the service which would enable mobile payments for both credit and debit cards using iPhones and the forthcoming Apple Watch, those people said.

The banks are open to an agreement, but they aren’t happy with Apple’s fee proposals and are concerned about security vulnerabilities like the ones that U.S. banks experienced as they rolled out the service, the people said, according to the Journal.

Lenders in discussions with Apple include Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada, the people said. Together, those banks account for more than 90% of retail bank accounts, which could provide Apple with near ubiquity upon launch if final agreements are reached.

At this stage, it is still uncertain whether all six banks will launch Apple Pay at the same time because talks are ongoing, those people added.

Apple introduced Apple Pay in October for the U.S. market. It allows owners of the latest iPhones to pay for items in stores by waving the device in front of a wireless reader. It has become the most popular service in the nascent but fast-growing mobile payments market. Apple said it accounted for two-thirds of all contactless payments on the three major credit card networks by late January.

Apple has said that the service will become available internationally, while speculation has centered on China and Canada as potential targets for expansion. Unlike its hardware products that can be quickly rolled out globally with minimal amounts of tweaking in individual markets, Apple Pay requires time-consuming negotiations with partners and regulators in every market.

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