Apple Pay Set For More International Growth: Hong Kong, France And Switzerland Coming Soon

Apple Pay‘s international expansion is continuing.

MasterCard and Visa have both announced that they will soon be bringing their Hong Kong-based cardholders access to Apple Pay.

“Based on our latest research, Hong Kong consumers have shown an appetite for mobile shopping, and it is encouraging to see members of the general public embrace new payment technologies,” said Hiang Choong, division president of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan for MasterCard. “MasterCard is committed to enabling a seamless, faster and safer shopping experience for consumers. With Apple Pay, local shoppers’ expectations for safety, speed and convenience can all be addressed.”

A recent study by MasterCard noted that customers in Hong Kong are increasingly using mobile payments and that as many as three-quarters of consumers plan to make at least some use of them in the next year.

The updated Apple Pay page on the Hong Kong Apple website now shows Visa, MasterCard and American Express as the credit card platforms for its mobile payment service. American Express was the first of the three networks to announce Apple Pay’s expansion into Hong Kong last year.

Apple Pay is also getting a boost in Europe, with expansion planned into France and Switzerland, care of Visa Europe assistance.

As is the case in the U.S., Apple Pay will only work at NFC-enabled merchants (that accept Apple Pay) and can only be used on certain Apple devices. The current list includes iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone SE and Apple Watch. When adding paying in-app to the list, Apple Pay is also usable on iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro.