With Apple Pay, iPhone and Apple Watch can replace debit or credit cards. Simply holding the device up to the terminal initiates the payment process.
Apple's payment service was introduced in the USA in October 2014. Now, after a long wait, Apple Pay has finally arrived in Germany. Agreements with the individual banks are necessary for payment processing - Apple has to conclude separate contracts here. The payment service is currently supported by 15 banks in this country.
Nine more institutes announced
Apple has now published a list of other banks that will offer Apple Pay from 2019. These include Consors Bank, Consors Finanz, Crosscard, DKB, Fleetmoney, ING, Revolut, Sodexo and VIABuy. It remains to be seen whether and when the Sparkassen, Commerzbank and Volks- and Reifeisenbanken will participate.
project "Diamond"
If recent rumors are to be believed, Sparkasse customers will have to wait longer. According to a report, the financial institution is working on the "Diamond" project. This includes the implementation of Apple Pay in the credit institution's general offering. Since Sparkasse only makes two major updates a year, there are two possible dates for 2019. "Release 19.0" is planned for April and "Release 19.1" for November 2019. According to the report, Apple Pay is more likely to launch in the second update. For Sparkasse customers, that would mean another year of waiting - if the rumors are true.
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