Apple unveiled its Apple Pay mobile payment service in September. Expected to launch later this month, it will initially do so only in the U.S. Needless to say, Canadians have been wondering when they will get to take advantage of the new service on their iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones (and upcoming Apple Watch). IDC suggests in a recent Financial Insights Perspective that it may not be too long. It predicts that Apple Pay will launch here sometime in 2015.
Canadians have already begun to adopt mobile wallets for many of their daily transactions. For example, RBC launched its RBC Wallet to Bell customers back in January and Rogers launched its suretap wallet in April. There is definitely a growing appetite to use mobile devices to pay for a number of things. In fact, a PayPal study found that 23% of Canadians have already used their mobile phone to make a purchase at a store. An even greater number (45%) are ready to start using mobile payments on wearable devices such as smartwatches.
Before Apple can roll out Apple Pay here, it will need to ensure that its service meets Canadian regulations and that it has contracts in place with the necessary financial institutions.
Who’s ready to use their iPhone to pay for things? Let us know below.
Sources : IDC // PayPal // iPhone in Canada