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Apple Pay Officially Launches in the United Kingdom Today
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Can someone clarify:
To use it on the underground you don't need an Oyster account linked? You just double tap the watch and get through the barriers? (assuming you have money in the account)
Does it also calculate the cheapest route or charge you a standard rate?
To use it on the underground you don't need an Oyster account linked? You just double tap the watch and get through the barriers? (assuming you have money in the account)
Does it also calculate the cheapest route or charge you a standard rate?
They do exist. More common at some stations than others (stations they suspect of high levels of fare evasion, I guess). Someone mentioned they appear frequently at Brixton, and I've seen them at Shepherd's Bush.
They usually hunt in packs, checking everyone's form of payment with their handheld scanners as you leave the station.
Works the same as using contactless in the Tube, you don't need to register unless you want to view your transactions. It charges for each journey at the standard Oyster price but caps it at the daily travelcard limit, if you use it over the course of a week it also caps it at the weekly travelcard limit.
It works exactly as if it were a regular contactless payment card. Same rates as regular Adult Oyster, with Daily and Weekly fare capping applied provided you use the same device for all journeys.
You do not need an Oyster account linked.
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Pre-authentication
- Open Passbook
- With your selected card (only) on the screen, briefly touch the fingerprint sensor.
- It should say "Pay with Touch ID" for a fraction of a second, then it should say "Hold Near Reader to Pay".
- You can take your finger off, and you have a minute or so to wander to the reader and hold your phone to it. No finger required at that point.
Blue or Purple card? Blue ones are not supported, apparently. You'd need to ask NatWest to upgrade you.
Thanks @LV426 - but what I was responding to was the claim one could just double-click the home button on the lock screen to get Passbook, which isn't the case, at least on 8.4
Hi Y'all
My luck. Literally yesterday I moved to the USA for 3 months. I have managed to add my UK bank cards to Apple Pay. Will I be able to use those cards on Apple Pay in US retailers too? Or are the UK cards stricting only going to work in UK retailers?
I ask cause I really wanna try out Apple Pay! With a little luck I can use them here too, instead of waiting three months!
My luck. Literally yesterday I moved to the USA for 3 months. I have managed to add my UK bank cards to Apple Pay. Will I be able to use those cards on Apple Pay in US retailers too? Or are the UK cards stricting only going to work in UK retailers?
I ask cause I really wanna try out Apple Pay! With a little luck I can use them here too, instead of waiting three months!
Interesting! So it appears TfL do have some way to associate Apple Pay transactions with the underlying card account.
I suspect it may take a day or so before Apple Pay transactions to start showing up in your online account. Check back tomorrow morning and see if they have magically appeared.
Pretty common in Green Park station, they hide in the tunnels between Jubilee and Victoria lines to ambush people. Always seem to have a Police Community Support officer on hand.
Used Apple Pay successfully at Paperchase, Waitrose and WH Smith today. Natwest card linked to both iPhone and Apple Watch. The Watch is much easier to use. Will try tube on the way home tonight.
Oh really? Ah, ok. That's good to know. My debit card expires next month anyway so I'll just get them to update it early. Thanks for your help!
I just tried using apple pay in McDonald's. I was the first person there to try it, and I drew a little crowd of staff to watch.
It took a while to get it to pick my watch up, mainly because the person serving hadn't pressed a button so it wasn't expecting payment yet. Then I got a security check so had to revert to putting my card in (I wasn't sure whether this would still happen).
Overall not a great success, but everyone still seemed quite impressed by the whole thing.
Were you using American Express? I had the exact same experience. I also tried an MBNA card and that went through straight away.
They should work in the USA unless your bank thinks fraud is being committed. Be aware though that you will be charged a currency conversion charge on all charges unless you have pre-arranged with your bank not too.
Just bought lunch in my local shop with Apple Pay. This is will be my primary paying method. Me and my wife share only one card.
— Do you accept contactless?
— Yes (smiling, reaching for my card)
— I have this new thing... Apple Watch (I am double clicking and showing my little card)
— I never done this before (smile is gone)
Awkward pause ...
— Will I get receipt?
— Yes! Don't worry it's like a card, same technology
Entering numbers and giving me the terminal (finally!). I touched terminal with my Apple Watch, it worked instantly. Than we nervously wait for it to process (same wait time as we the card).
— It worked! (what a relief).
Specs: Santander personal account, iPhone 5, Apple Watch, US region App Store, Visa, iOS 8.4
— Do you accept contactless?
— Yes (smiling, reaching for my card)
— I have this new thing... Apple Watch (I am double clicking and showing my little card)
— I never done this before (smile is gone)
Awkward pause ...
— Will I get receipt?
— Yes! Don't worry it's like a card, same technology
Entering numbers and giving me the terminal (finally!). I touched terminal with my Apple Watch, it worked instantly. Than we nervously wait for it to process (same wait time as we the card).
— It worked! (what a relief).
Specs: Santander personal account, iPhone 5, Apple Watch, US region App Store, Visa, iOS 8.4
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Used it on the bus/train and at eat today. Can't use my watch yet as I'm on beta 3 but using the phone vs contactless card, the phone seems quicker, I think its due to the range being better on the phone.
On the bus/train I just double clicked the home button, left my thumb on the touch ID, the screen shows "Ready to pay" and when I got to the barrier I just tapped the top close to the reader, little vibrate and green light (On the reader) and the barrier opened. No delay vs contactless.
FYI you don't have to keep your thumb on once "Ready to pay" shows.
On the bus/train I just double clicked the home button, left my thumb on the touch ID, the screen shows "Ready to pay" and when I got to the barrier I just tapped the top close to the reader, little vibrate and green light (On the reader) and the barrier opened. No delay vs contactless.
FYI you don't have to keep your thumb on once "Ready to pay" shows.
Four questions for people who have used ApplePay successfully in the UK with a UK credit card...
1) Has your transaction showed up in the pending transactions section when you log in to look at your online credit card account details? I started using regular contactless on my cards (Amex and CapitalOne) recently and the fact that the transactions never show up in the pending section and take about 2 to 3 days to appear as fully posted transactions against my card is quite unnerving so I'm hoping that doing it via ApplePay updates the online systems more quickly.
2) For UK Amex card users. With my UK Amex card I get almost immediate passbook alerts about a new transaction when I do a chip and PIN payment but never get any alerts for contactless payment. Does the Amex passbook card give immediate new transaction alerts for ApplePay transactions?
2) For anyone who has used it on London Underground, how does the speed compare with contactless credit card and Oyster? I moved from Oyster to contactless credit card about 6 months ago and really notice the speed difference (much slower) with contactless credit cards. If ApplePay is any slower than current contactless credit cards then it could create big problems at rush hour. If it's faster though, closer to Oystercard speed, then that would be a big bonus.
Edit: Just seen Reecemac's comment re bus use. That's incouraging but also interested in tube experiences.
3) I see that ApplePay does have the feature I was really hoping for that you can pre-authorise a transaction with TouchID before placing the phone over the reader to avoid any awkward 'get the phone in the right position over the card reader whilst at the same time holding my thumb over the sensor' type of manoeuvres. That's great but does anyone have any rough idea of how long the pre-authorisation stays valid on the phone. Are we talking 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds? I can't imagine ever needing more than 20 seconds but a 5 second limit might be a bit frantic on some occasions.
- Julian
1) Has your transaction showed up in the pending transactions section when you log in to look at your online credit card account details? I started using regular contactless on my cards (Amex and CapitalOne) recently and the fact that the transactions never show up in the pending section and take about 2 to 3 days to appear as fully posted transactions against my card is quite unnerving so I'm hoping that doing it via ApplePay updates the online systems more quickly.
2) For UK Amex card users. With my UK Amex card I get almost immediate passbook alerts about a new transaction when I do a chip and PIN payment but never get any alerts for contactless payment. Does the Amex passbook card give immediate new transaction alerts for ApplePay transactions?
2) For anyone who has used it on London Underground, how does the speed compare with contactless credit card and Oyster? I moved from Oyster to contactless credit card about 6 months ago and really notice the speed difference (much slower) with contactless credit cards. If ApplePay is any slower than current contactless credit cards then it could create big problems at rush hour. If it's faster though, closer to Oystercard speed, then that would be a big bonus.
Edit: Just seen Reecemac's comment re bus use. That's incouraging but also interested in tube experiences.
3) I see that ApplePay does have the feature I was really hoping for that you can pre-authorise a transaction with TouchID before placing the phone over the reader to avoid any awkward 'get the phone in the right position over the card reader whilst at the same time holding my thumb over the sensor' type of manoeuvres. That's great but does anyone have any rough idea of how long the pre-authorisation stays valid on the phone. Are we talking 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds? I can't imagine ever needing more than 20 seconds but a 5 second limit might be a bit frantic on some occasions.
- Julian
The 'blue' ones are online only cards; so hopefully NatWest upgrade you to the purple 'offline' card!
Question 1: I've used my Santander World MasterCard in my local Co-Op this morning. Looking at the pending transactions via online banking shows it as Apple Pay (and amount spent.)
How does double clicking the home button work? I thought that was only iOS 9? I have doubled clicked on the lock screen and home screen and Passbook does not show up, I wasn't ready to pay for anything at the time though.
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