I use it primarily in pubs here in the UK, I'd use it more but I find if i am warm the touch sensor doesn't pick my finger print up very well (either to pay or to unlock my phone). I am hoping the Apple watch 2 will be awesome so I can get one of those and pay easily with that in a wider range of places. Plus it is limited to £30 per transaction here so we can only use it for smaller transactions.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Early Apple Pay Reception Tepid Outside of United States
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Apple Pay is just a hassle in the UK even though most places accept it. If I have a store card then I have to open my wallet anyway so why not just get my contactless card out. When I do want to use Apple Pay, Touch ID never ever works. Pointless bit of technology. Scanned my fingers tons of times and it never works for more than a day. I think you might have to have perfect skin and work in an office where your fingers never get roughed up for it to constantly work. All in all Apple Pay takes ages to use unlike contactless. It's nothing to do with persuading people to scan there cards, but more why change from using contactless which is just as quick. Now using your Apple Watch to pay instead of getting something out of your pocket is a different matter.
I can tell you exactly the problem from MY own personal point of view.
1: So many, even LARGE companies don't support contactless payments yet.
2: Those that do (and I've been asking) seem to have a £30 max limit.
3: So those two things combined mean you HAVE to realistically carry your wallet with your plastic cars/cash when you go shopping anyway.....
4: If you ARE already carrying your wallet then your current plastic card (which does contactless payments itself is jt a couple of seconds away, and even easier than getting the phone out your pocket.
So what's the point?
I wait say 30 seconds or a few mins to get served at the checkout, I've already got my thin, lightweight plastic card out ready in my hand (before I get to the checkout)
The current Chip & Pin process that works EVERYWHERE and for ANY AMOUNT is so quick, simple, really getting your phone out, hoping the shop supports it, and making sure you have not gone over the money limit supported, just really means by bother.
The current system is easy, quick, reliable, and trouble free.
Thats the problem right now. No one is desperate for this combined with the fact that right now it's worse than the system currently in place.
1: So many, even LARGE companies don't support contactless payments yet.
2: Those that do (and I've been asking) seem to have a £30 max limit.
3: So those two things combined mean you HAVE to realistically carry your wallet with your plastic cars/cash when you go shopping anyway.....
4: If you ARE already carrying your wallet then your current plastic card (which does contactless payments itself is jt a couple of seconds away, and even easier than getting the phone out your pocket.
So what's the point?
I wait say 30 seconds or a few mins to get served at the checkout, I've already got my thin, lightweight plastic card out ready in my hand (before I get to the checkout)
The current Chip & Pin process that works EVERYWHERE and for ANY AMOUNT is so quick, simple, really getting your phone out, hoping the shop supports it, and making sure you have not gone over the money limit supported, just really means by bother.
The current system is easy, quick, reliable, and trouble free.
Thats the problem right now. No one is desperate for this combined with the fact that right now it's worse than the system currently in place.
Does Apple Pay use the Touch ID in the same way as unlocking the device, or is it more picky? The reason I ask is that I've never heard much complaint about people unlocking their devices with it. Everyone I've talked to about it always says how well it works and how life-changing it is.
The payment ceiling for contactless payment by credit card is so low as to be useless for anything significant. The key advantage of systems such as Apple Pay is that they deal with user security much better and so should potentially be usable to the limits of the card-plus-PIN. This does not yet seem to be the case.
As soon as my (Aussie) bank signs up, I will use Apple Pay as a matter of principle in the expectation that the service will improve. I usually carry my phone. I just about never carry cash. And I would like to stop carrying and using credit cards. It's all about looking at the way forwards, and acting to support it
[sorry, this was supposed to be attached to the above quote from the article!]
As soon as my (Aussie) bank signs up, I will use Apple Pay as a matter of principle in the expectation that the service will improve. I usually carry my phone. I just about never carry cash. And I would like to stop carrying and using credit cards. It's all about looking at the way forwards, and acting to support it
[sorry, this was supposed to be attached to the above quote from the article!]
So you do have to carry all those cards. And you do have to sometimes show ID. And you do have to sign sometimes.
My credit card is accepted everywhere, has contactless payment and the battery never runs out.
On this basis, I think it's Apple pay that sucks.
[doublepost=1464851823][/doublepost]
You must know some people who lead incredibly dull lives if they think fingerprint recognition on a mobile telephone is life changing.
Or perhaps you're exaggerating.
Last edited:
It's been very successfully rolled out here but I rarely see anyone else use it. As mentioned in the article, the fact that contactless cards are the norm here means it's not necessarily a must-have like in countries where chip and pin/contactless cards aren't the norm.
"You have over 86 million contactless cards in circulation, you have to persuade Britons to register their cards to the (Apple Pay) service when they can already use them to make a contactless payment," Holden said
What a BS: you only have to register once compared having your card with you multiple times. What a stupid comparison. Anyhow, contactless payments are available here in the Netherlands, but only up to 25 euro; above jou need to go old school. How does this work in the US ans the UK?
What a BS: you only have to register once compared having your card with you multiple times. What a stupid comparison. Anyhow, contactless payments are available here in the Netherlands, but only up to 25 euro; above jou need to go old school. How does this work in the US ans the UK?
I love using Apple Pay in the UK, my biggest grievance is finding stores that are contactless -big names like Sainsbury's who keep promising it's on the way but can't help but drag the process out when the majority of stores have the NFC terminals already installed.
That, and it being capped at £30 (except for the likes of an Apple Store, or Nando's).
I know I can use Chip & PIN over that amount but given that means divulging my card details that means if the system is hacked there's a greater risk of having my details cloned and used fraudulently.
[doublepost=1464852200][/doublepost]
And given that most people will likely have their card registered for iTunes payments it's even quicker to set up!
That, and it being capped at £30 (except for the likes of an Apple Store, or Nando's).
I know I can use Chip & PIN over that amount but given that means divulging my card details that means if the system is hacked there's a greater risk of having my details cloned and used fraudulently.
[doublepost=1464852200][/doublepost]
And given that most people will likely have their card registered for iTunes payments it's even quicker to set up!
These reports make me laugh, it isn't Apple Pay thats the problem its banks and retailers.
I use Apple Pay everyday, on the London Underground or in shops. I have only ever had Apple pay not work once. The people who write these reports are the same ones who try and second guess sales, who tend to contradict their own reports a week later.
In the UK, contactless regardless of if its a contactless card or mobile payment is restricted by the £30 limit. Until Merchant services send the new terminals out and sell the benefits to retails it is going to restrict the use of the service. If stores like Marks and Spencers can do this, then others have no excuse. John lewis is a perfect example. In Ipswich, John Lewis and Waitrose are in the same building. One side of the store (Waitrose) uses Apple Pay whilst the other side of the store (John Lewis Home) do not! How confusing is that?
It's down to banks and merchant services to push this now, especially as Android pay has hit the UK. And for those who complain about their Touch ID not working, then book a genius appointment
I use Apple Pay everyday, on the London Underground or in shops. I have only ever had Apple pay not work once. The people who write these reports are the same ones who try and second guess sales, who tend to contradict their own reports a week later.
In the UK, contactless regardless of if its a contactless card or mobile payment is restricted by the £30 limit. Until Merchant services send the new terminals out and sell the benefits to retails it is going to restrict the use of the service. If stores like Marks and Spencers can do this, then others have no excuse. John lewis is a perfect example. In Ipswich, John Lewis and Waitrose are in the same building. One side of the store (Waitrose) uses Apple Pay whilst the other side of the store (John Lewis Home) do not! How confusing is that?
It's down to banks and merchant services to push this now, especially as Android pay has hit the UK. And for those who complain about their Touch ID not working, then book a genius appointment
I think the service itself is great, it's just that the rollout has been so damn slow. In Australia, we have one bank with one card accepting it - which seems like such a wasted opportunity because literally everywhere has the functionality to accept Apple Pay here. NFC technology has been country wide for years. If you're alienating such a large group of people, of course the service is going to be slow to catch on - because people still can't use it.
The number of large companies that don't support contactless payments is disappointing. There is a good reason to use Apple Pay over your contactless card though and that is tokenisation. Apple Pay doesn't send you card details to the retailer, it sends a one time token, so your card details can't be copied. I definitely feel safer using contactless that way.
Personally I find it easier to take out my phone, which is a one step process, than take out my wallet then remove my card, which is a two step process, for me at least.
With respect.
This is not true at all. Apple doesn't have to sign up retailers. Any retailer that has a terminal that supports contactless transactions is fine. Sure it helps if Apple aids retailers without the contactless terminals a little, but in my experience, a lot of retailers already have contactless terminals (yet not a single bank is supported by Apple Pay yet).
The limit for contactless payments here in the UK in £30 (about 60 dollars) - which is fine for your credit card. If mine was lost/stolen it's nice to know there's a limit - but completely unnecessary for Apple Pay which uses Touch ID.
No, they are obviously working on it and have had issues. (I'm in Australia, with commbank though)
my gas station (ARCO) just started accepting Apple Pay. basically it's AP, the chip or cash. any other way just isn't safe.
For what it's worth, after just a day of ApplePay being rolled out to the last of the 5 major banks in Canada, many of my non-geek friends were boasting on Facebook about having used their iPhone to buy their coffee/groceries/parking metre/transit ticket today.
Because Interac controls 100% of the debit system in Canada, and since it's now supported on all major banks, Canada appears set to light ApplePay on fire. It's accepted virtually everywhere since almost every vendor you encounter accepts Interac tap payments.
Because Interac controls 100% of the debit system in Canada, and since it's now supported on all major banks, Canada appears set to light ApplePay on fire. It's accepted virtually everywhere since almost every vendor you encounter accepts Interac tap payments.
So funny, all of you who think they don't get your card number when you use contacltess.
Ha ha ha, check your reciept. The last 4 digits of your card are still printed on it as they are with normall chip and pin.
The £30 limit is placed to stop large scale fruad. How dare the banks do such a thing.
As for large companies? Do you have any idea how much it costs for the large supermarkets to replace there card readers. They'll only do it when they need replacing. Not because some jumped up little hipster wants to look like knob waving a mobile phone around. You want them all to support Apple Pay straight away. go give them a few£m to pay for it.
The number of people - all 5 of you - would never justify a totally unplanned upgrade. You'll all just have to wait till they need replacing.
Apple Pay or Google Pay is far more fff than contactless. It isn't any safer, unless you are a complete idiot - oh wait never mind.
Ha ha ha, check your reciept. The last 4 digits of your card are still printed on it as they are with normall chip and pin.
The £30 limit is placed to stop large scale fruad. How dare the banks do such a thing.
As for large companies? Do you have any idea how much it costs for the large supermarkets to replace there card readers. They'll only do it when they need replacing. Not because some jumped up little hipster wants to look like knob waving a mobile phone around. You want them all to support Apple Pay straight away. go give them a few£m to pay for it.
The number of people - all 5 of you - would never justify a totally unplanned upgrade. You'll all just have to wait till they need replacing.
Apple Pay or Google Pay is far more fff than contactless. It isn't any safer, unless you are a complete idiot - oh wait never mind.
The Apple Watch is where Apple Pay really shines IMO. I use it across the UK for pretty much everything including the underground, the two minor hurdles left to tackle are:
1) Transaction limits (£30 limit at most retailers here in the UK)
2) Usability... the button to activate Apple Pay on the watch is also used for contacts/favourites so you double click for Apple Pay and you end up activating/viewing your contacts instead (I've sent feedback to Apple on this one)
1) Transaction limits (£30 limit at most retailers here in the UK)
2) Usability... the button to activate Apple Pay on the watch is also used for contacts/favourites so you double click for Apple Pay and you end up activating/viewing your contacts instead (I've sent feedback to Apple on this one)
So the issue actually isn't the retailers or the banks it's the Payment Service Providers (PSP) as all the NFC terminals can technically support contactless of any limit by the PSP pushing a change to the terminal for the value of EMV tag DF8124 (full list of tags if anybody is really bored https://www.eftlab.co.uk/index.php/site-map/knowledge-base/145-emv-nfc-tags)
The main issue comes is they don't want to do an offline authorisation of a high value contactless transaction which forces the terminal for high value contactless to make an online connection to the issuing bank to validate the cryptogram generated during the EMV NFC communication process, and that process is obviously slow which kind of defeats the point of the speed of contactless in the first place. So at the moment there is no appetite to support it because everybody will just complain it's slow.
I use Apple Pay quite a lot in the UK, the thing which annoys me about it is the NFC processor is quite a bit slower than a contactless card, which means I have to hold the watch in the NFC field longer than a card otherwise the EMV calls fail and I get some sort of error, this happens a lot at TFL gates. Also Tesco are not using a version of the ExpressPay kernel which supports Apple Pay, so that means if I want to use my AMEX in Tesco I have to get my card out.
First world problems eh.
The main issue comes is they don't want to do an offline authorisation of a high value contactless transaction which forces the terminal for high value contactless to make an online connection to the issuing bank to validate the cryptogram generated during the EMV NFC communication process, and that process is obviously slow which kind of defeats the point of the speed of contactless in the first place. So at the moment there is no appetite to support it because everybody will just complain it's slow.
I use Apple Pay quite a lot in the UK, the thing which annoys me about it is the NFC processor is quite a bit slower than a contactless card, which means I have to hold the watch in the NFC field longer than a card otherwise the EMV calls fail and I get some sort of error, this happens a lot at TFL gates. Also Tesco are not using a version of the ExpressPay kernel which supports Apple Pay, so that means if I want to use my AMEX in Tesco I have to get my card out.
First world problems eh.