Apple Pay is Apple’s contactless payment service, and it’s available to the iPhone 6/6S, 6/6S Plus, iPhone SE, and the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. The service, like Android Pay, requires stores to have NFC terminals at checkout so that you can simply tap your phone to make a payment.
While Apple was hardly the first with contactless payments, the company’s solution has banks, stores, and companies jumping on the bandwagon and pledging their support for Apple Pay. It seems as if new partners are joining every day, so we’ve put together this handy list of all the major partners, which we’ll update as more are added. Here are all the brands and countries that support Apple Pay.
Apple Pay around the world
Initially, Apple Pay only worked in the United States, but Apple is interested in bringing the service to users in many countries. Apple has to prioritize which countries it will reach first, as the company has to take several factors into account. Apple evaluates credit and debit card penetration, the current infrastructure in place for mobile payments, and the popularity of iPhones in each country.
Whether or not Amex and Visa cards are accepted in each country is also part of the vetting process, because both credit card providers are partners with Apple Pay. Their presence in any given country speeds up Apple Pay adoption. Indeed, that’s likely why so many countries kick off Apple Pay launches with limited support for Amex and Visa cards only.
Spain
Spain is the latest country to get Apple Pay support, and you can add credit or debit cards from Carrefour, American Express, Banco Santander, and Ticket Restaurant. The service also supports Mastercard.
Apple says more than 25 major vendors accept Apple Pay, including Media Markt, Starbucks, Bershka, Zara, Repsol, and Pull & Bear.
Singapore
Apple users in Singapore have been able to use Apple Pay since the summer of 2016, but now HSBC customers can use it as well. The banking institution is offering a promotion for its customers that use Apple Pay — link an HSBC credit card to get $5 off every transaction that’s $10 or more. This offer will last until January 15.
Other banks in Singapore that support Apple Pay are United Overseas Bank, Standard Chartered, OCBC Bank, POSB Bank, American Express, and DBS Bank.
Japan
One of the rockier rollouts took place in Japan, where Apple Pay debuted after much anticipation on Oct. 25. Commuters had a difficult time loading their train passes onto their iPhones on the morning after major railways began accepting Apple Pay. Luckily, most services were restored after a couple hours. East Japan Railway Co. noted that much of the disruption was due to “the large number of attempts to access the service,” so it certainly looks as though Apple Pay has come to an eager audience.
At Apple’s September 7 event, the company announced that it was bringing Apple Pay to Japan. Of course, in Japan, they actually use a different technology to NFC, so along with the launch of Apple Pay in the country, Apple will also be selling the iPhone 7 with support for a technology called Felica — it’s very similar to Bluetooth, but the broader point is that the iPhone will now support Apple Pay in Japan.
The list of supported institutions are too great to mention, but you can check them out here.
Russia
On Oct. 4, 2016, Apple Pay expanded its services to Russia. Mastercard is supported, and you can add cards from Alfa-Bank, Bank “Otkritie”, Bank Saint-Petersburg, MDM Bank, MTS Bank, Otkritie, Raiffeisenbank, Rocketbank, Russian Standard Bank, Sberbank, Tinkoff Bank, Tochka, VTB 24, and Yandex.Money.
France
Apple launched support in France in July 2016. Apple Pay works with Visa and MasterCard, and you can add credit and debit cards from Carrefour Banque, Banque Populaire, Caisse d’Épargne, Edenred (Ticket Restaurant cards), Boon, and Orange Cash.
Switzerland
In July 2016, Switzerland got Apple Pay support. The service works with credit cards issued by Bonus Card, Cornercard, Swiss Bankers, and Swisscard.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, Apple Pay is compatible with Mastercard, Visa, and American Express accounts. Supported banks within the country include the Bank of HeBei, ChengDu Rural Commercial Bank, China Minsheng Banking Corporation, Zheshang Bank, Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank, Fujian Rural Credit Union, HSBC, LangFang Bank, Shanghai Huarui Bank, Shanxi, Rural Credit Cooperatives Union, WeBank, Xiamen International Bank, YellowRiver, Yinzhou Bank, the Bank of China, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, The Bank of East Asia, Standard Chartered, DBS Bank, HSBC, HKT Payment Limited, and “soon” Tap & Go. Apple Pay launched in the country in August 2016.
Australia and New Zealand
Apple is having some trouble getting major banks in Australia to sign up for the service, but at least ANZ is supported. American Express cards are also supported, as well as those from other institutions such as The Bank of Sydney, Bank Australia, The Mac, and more. You can read the full list here.
ANZ is the only supported bank in New Zealand at the moment.
Canada
Apple Pay came to Canada late last year, but it only available to a handful of banks. A bigger expansion in early 2016 made the service more prevalent. American Express cards are supported, as well as ones from banks like ATB, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Tire, CIBC, Desjardins, President’s Choice, the Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, Tangerine, and TD.
U.K.
The U.K. was the first country to get Apple Pay after it launched in the U.S. It’s compatible with American Express cards, and more than 20 banks currently support the service including Barclays, Bank fo Scotland, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Barclaycard, Boon, Cash Passport, Clydesdale Bank, First Direct, M&S Bank, MBNA, Metro Bank, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, Tesco Bank, The Co-operative Bank, TSB, Ulster Bank, and Yorkshire Bank.
China
Although cracking the Chinese payments market is considered extremely tough, Apple Pay got a boost from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which is the biggest lender in the country, Reuters reported. In total, Apple has 19 of China’s biggest banks on-board, and around 80 percent of Chinese credit and debit cards will work on the service from the get-go. The main disadvantage Apple faces in the country is the prevalence of other mobile payment services like Alibaba’s AliPay, WeChat, and UnionPay. You can see the full list of supported banks here.
More: Tim Cook says money will be forgotten by history, thanks to Apple Pay
We’ll keep you updated as more countries support Apple Pay.