Apple Pay will arrive in the US next month, but UK-ers won't be able to take advantage of Apple's mobile payment scheme until 2015.
Speaking to TechRadar, Pedro Sousa, Head of Mobile Proposition for Visa Europe, told us not to expect a rollout this year. "We don't have any concrete dates, but we're talking about next year."
That's just Visa, mind. But given that Visa has been such a big dog in Europe embracing contactless payments, it will be stucturally integral if Apple Pay is going to take off this side of the pond.
iCloud shame
The Apple Pay launch came at possibly the most unfortunate time for Cupertino, with the big iCloud leak taking place just days before.
However Sousa reassured us that people will have nothing to worry about when it comes to the security of their banking details.
"There is no reason to be concerned. On these devices, and on the systems from Apple, there will be no credit card or debit card details. It will be a token that will reference your accounts. These are two different things [iCloud and Apple Pay] and we should not be worried."
Original story below...
Apple announced this week that it's entering the payments arena with the launch of Apple Pay, in a move that could finally turn the mobile wallet into a viable technology for us all.
Or at least, for those in the US. Right now that's the only country that Apple's new payment system has been announced for. However, Visa has confirmed that it's working to bring Apple Pay to Europe.
Steve Perry, Chief Digital Officer of Visa Europe, told us in a statement: "We are working closely with Apple and with other member banks to bring this new service to market in Europe."
Jigsaw falling into place
He added: "Apple's entry to the market represents a critical piece of the mobile payments jigsaw. This is a pivotal moment for digital payments and one that demonstrates the momentum behind mobile and contactless services."
While that doesn't indicate when we might see the service touch down in the UK, we at least know that it's definitely on its way. We're chasing up with Visa to see if there's anything further it can tell us on how long it might take.
- We got our hands on Apple Pay
