They have to work with Apple's System. Apple is using a token when you pay, the store needs to know what to do with this token...
Merchant terminals do have to be updated with the bank identification number prefixes being used to identify tokens to the backend systems, but that should have already been done by now either automatically or manually.
To the merchant, this is so their readers know that the card "number" is in a valid range (and perhaps what the home currency is).
Now, If your debit card or credit card from your bank is a Visa or MasterCard it will work. Every single bank in the country does not need to be on board.
Yes, it could've been possible for the credit networks to be the token holders, but the banks decided they wanted to keep that control.
So it looks like the card issuing bank has to be onboard with tokenization. That includes, as it turns out, being able to accept the original token request from an Apple server when we register a new card.
Btw, this means that Google has the only US wallet at this time where the user can register any card they wish as the backing payment method.
There is the limit in the UK. I didn't realise it was because of the offline thing, as NFC terminals are also Chip&Pin - whether I pay with NFC or Chip&Pin, the terminal always has a moment of "authorising" and sometimes takes longer (when the connection is slowed, I assumed).
What about mobile payments from your smartphone? Are there any wallet apps that work in the UK?
The reason I'm asking is because I think the purchase limit is related to not being able to enter a PIN from a card. From a smartphone, that would not be a problem.
For example, I believe... and somebody please correct me if need be... that in Australia the tap & pay limit is $100 without a PIN, but if challenged, entering the PIN on the phone overrides the limit.
So I'm curious if, in the UK, that it's possible to make a larger contactless purchase using your smartphone.
I meant that the reason the 5 and 5c were not able to use Apple Pay is because of the lack of Touch ID and a Secure Element. The 5s will implement the Secure Element and Touch ID but the lack of NFC will limit it's Apple Pay usage to just apps.
The 5S does not have a Secure Element, which for Apple Pay is inside the NFC chip. (You might've been thinking of the Secure Enclave in the CPU.)