Apple Pay: Contactless smartphone payment now available in South Africa

Apple Pay, the contactless and digital payment platform developed by the iPhone maker, is now available in South Africa. Several customers from Absa, Discovery Bank and Nedbank took to social media on Tuesday 30 March, to share the news.

APPLE PAY AVAILABLE TO ABSA, NEDBANK AND DISCOVERY CUSTOMERS

Apple Pay allows users with supported bank cards to make secure payments with their devices within apps, or on the internet with the Safari browser but most notably it allows for contactless payments at supported NFC-based terminals — leave your card at home and tap with your phone.

According to Apple, Visa cards from Absa and Discovery are supported in South Africa, while Nedbank’s Visa, American Express and Mastercard cards are also compatible.

“We’re working with more banks to support Apple Pay. If you don’t see your bank below, check back soon,” reads Apple’s website.

SOCIAL MEDIA USERS DELIGHTED WITH THE SERVICE

On Tuesday, several customers from the banks that support Apple Pay shared their experience with the service and said they were able to successfully complete transactions.

Apple Pay was lauded for its convenience and added security. People also seemed keen to leave their wallets at home for a change.

“Apple Pay is now available in South Africa! I have successfully loaded my Discovery Bank card to my iPhone and Apple Watch,” exclaimed one Twitter user.

“Yay #ApplePay is finally live in South Africa. I just managed to add my @Discovery_SA card and I think it is now time for some [coffee],” added another.

Needless to say, customers from banks that have not incorporated the service yet, inlcuding FNB, Standard Bank and Capitec, were unimpressed that they were left behind.

FNB’s Card CEO, Chris Labuschagne, told MyBroadband that the bank was in talks with Apple and looked forward to bringing the service to millions of its customers.

“Once available, it will be accessible at scale to nearly 1 million iPhone users from our 6 million digitally active customers,” he said.

HOW TO LOAD A CARD INTO APPLE PAY

1. Navigate to the settings menu on your device and select Wallet & Apple Pay;
2. Tap Add Card;
3. Follow the instructions to add your new card. Perhaps your Apple ID already has card payment information attached to it, if this is the case select that card and enter the necessary card security codes;
4. Tap Next. “Your bank or card issuer will verify your information and decided if you can use your card with Apple Pay,” according to Apple; and
5. Once your bank or issuer has verified your card, tap Next and then start using Apple Pay.

READ: Samsung Pay and Nedbank bring contactless payments into sharper focus