Regions Bank Adds Support for Apple Pay

[MacRumors]

Following a second round of banks adding support for the Apple Pay mobile payments service last week, Regions Bank today began allowing its cards to be added to the service. The bank has reportedly emailed customers about the new support and MacRumors readers have been successfully adding their cards to Apple Pay.

Apple has also updated its list of participating issuers to include Regions, noting that personal credit and debit cards as well as small business credit cards and prepaid cards from the bank are supported at this time.

Regions Banks is based in Birmingham, Alabama and primarily serves the Southeast, Midwest, and Texas with over 1700 branches and 2400 ATMs.

While the number of supporting banks currently numbers a little over a dozen, Apple announced at its media event last month that it has over 500 banks signed on for Apple Pay. Many of the largest banks in the United States are already supporting the service, and the remainder of those signed on will continue rolling out support over time.

Article Link: Regions Bank Adds Support for Apple Pay

 

[FlyersPh9]

C'mon Simple, usually you're so fast to support new features!

 

[Koodauw]

I wonder what the possibility of small local banks adding Applepay is. I would love to use Applepay with my debit card, but my bank and all 5 of its location probably wont be offering it anytime soon.

 

[six2pel]

Their website says it's coming soon but I just added my SunTrust Debit Card today. Woohoo!!!!

 

[tuna9720]

IMO unless those large grocery store chains add, apple pay won't be useful enough. To me the benefit should be that you don't have to carry your wallet with you all the time. But today there are only a few places accept (most are still not your daily shops) and you still have to carry your wallet with you all the time.

 

[Michael Scrip]

IMO unless those large grocery store chains add, apple pay won't be useful enough. To me the benefit should be that you don't have to carry your wallet with you all the time. But today there are only a few places accept (most are still not your daily shops) and you still have to carry your wallet with you all the time.

Hmmmm... I thought the benefit is that it is a safe way to pay versus regular credit/debit cards. (one-time tokens, retailers don't get your credit card number and other personal information, etc)

I never thought Apple Pay was designed so that you could leave your entire wallet at home.

You still need to carry your driver's licence, insurance cards, etc.

 

[ayale99]

Here's the setup process so far for the Regions Check Card.

1. Enter the card into Passbook. No problem.
2. Passbook says that you have to call an 800 number to verify the card with Regions.
3. The 800 number doesn't have an option to verify for Apple Pay
4. Call 1-800-Regions. No relevant option and can't get to a real person
5. Call local branch. They have no idea what Apple Pay is and give you a different 800 number
6. Currently on hold while the first representative transfers me to a different representative.
7. Waiting...

It would be nice if Bank's like Regions let ALL of their representatives know what Apple Pay is and how it works before they make the announcement to the public.


Update: The first representative came back after 10 minutes and said there is an extended hold time for the second representative.

Status: Card not verified after 25 minutes of attempting.

 

[wadam1230]

I'm at the 53 minute mark on my regions call. 4 reps and countless holds. They seem to have heard about this ApplePay thing but that's about it.

59minutes and it's activated. Now I guess I need to take a trip to either disneyworld or mcdonalds to use it.

 

[ayale99]

I'm at the 53 minute mark on my regions call. 4 reps and countless holds. They seem to have heard about this ApplePay thing but that's about it.

59minutes and it's activated. Now I guess I need to take a trip to either disneyworld or mcdonalds to use it.

I gave up. What's the secret to success?

 

[IJ Reilly]

I wonder what the possibility of small local banks adding Applepay is. I would love to use Applepay with my debit card, but my bank and all 5 of its location probably wont be offering it anytime soon.

I am wondering the same thing. Apple seems to be making inroads with the big national banks, and a few of the regional banks, but the vast majority of banks are local. Will they be included, or will they be frozen out by the big banks? Huge question.

 

[BrentD]

The bank has reportedly emailed customers about the new support...

Not this customer...

 

[afowler63]

Suntrust Bank is working now

Suntrust Bank is working now

 

[ptb42]

I wonder what the possibility of small local banks adding Applepay is.

Small banks and credit unions typically outsource their back-office system operations. For instance, Intuit/Digital Insight operates them for my credit union.

So, it's a matter of when that vendor implements support for Pay.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I am wondering the same thing. Apple seems to be making inroads with the big national banks, and a few of the regional banks, but the vast majority of banks are local. Will they be included, or will they be frozen out by the big banks? Huge question.

There are 5,000 banks in the US... but 500 banks are already signed up for Apple Pay.

And it's only been 2 months since we first heard about Apple Pay. (I'm guessing a few banks knew about it before us consumers did)

Small banks have just as much to gain by people using Apple Pay as the big banks do... so I think most banks will get on board with Apple Pay eventually.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Hmmmm... I thought the benefit is that it is a safe way to pay versus regular credit/debit cards. (one-time tokens, retailers don't get your credit card number and other personal information, etc)

I never thought Apple Pay was designed so that you could leave your entire wallet at home.

You still need to carry your driver's licence, insurance cards, etc.

Apple stated that their long term goal, when unveiling Apple Pay, was to make it so people didn't need their wallets anymore, and that they were starting off by making it so you don't need rewards cards or payment cards anymore.

Also, the Health App makes it so that emergency responders can get a lot of the vital information that they might otherwise get from your wallet, if you carried around an emergency card with your blood type and allergens and other stuff that it's useful to know when you're unconscious in the ER.

As for IDs, I believe some governments allow those to be digital already. I expect Apple will probably talk with the 50 US states sometime soon to talk about moving your Drivers License and/or state ID to Pass Book. Maybe they'll even get the US military to move their IDs to PassBook (that seems like too much of a stretch for it to come soon, but maybe eventually.)

Once Apple allows people to bump iPhones together to exchange money via Apple Pay, cash should be done away with.

 

[IJ Reilly]

There are 5,000 banks in the US... but 500 banks are already signed up for Apple Pay.

And it's only been 2 months since we first heard about Apple Pay. (I'm guessing a few banks knew about it before us consumers did)

Small banks have just as much to gain by people using Apple Pay as the big banks do... so I think most banks will get on board with Apple Pay eventually.

I don't know where you get the 500 number, when according to Apple it's actually sixteen. And as the table shows, most of them don't fully support Apple Pay yet.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT6288

Granted, it's early days for Apple Pay, but the question I have remains. This entire project is burdened with the dynamics of the banking industry and the retailers. We don't know what is going on behind the scenes but judging by the virtual open warfare breaking out between the financially interested parties, I have to wonder if anyone is in any hurry to invite the local banks to the party. I know some local bankers. I should probably just ask them.

 

[doelcm82]

Hmmmm... I thought the benefit is that it is a safe way to pay versus regular credit/debit cards. (one-time tokens, retailers don't get your credit card number and other personal information, etc)

I never thought Apple Pay was designed so that you could leave your entire wallet at home.

You still need to carry your driver's licence, insurance cards, etc.

I have four credit cards and an ATM/Debit card. I really only charge on three of the credit cards, but I got the fourth when I was traveling overseas because it didn't charge for currency conversion.

My wallet is thinner since I took three of the four credit cards out of it.

I already got the loyalty cards out. I think insurance cards will be next. What does a doctor's office do when you hand them your insurance card? They copy or scan it. Why not just send them an electronic version using NFS, text, or email? Where I live, the police don't need to see an insurance card. It helps, but they still check online to see if your insurance is active. Eventually, the plastic license card will probably go away, too.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I don't know where you get the 500 number, when according to Apple it's actually sixteen. And as the table shows, most of them don't fully support Apple Pay yet.

I got it from Apple PR:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/201...form-Mobile-Payments-Starting-October-20.html

...more than 500 new banks from across the country have signed on to Apple Pay.

And from this article:

Apple announced at its media event last month that it has over 500 banks signed on for Apple Pay.

Yes there is a difference between "signed up" and "currently in use"

But the 500 number I quoted came from Apple themselves a month ago.

Hope that helps.

 

[emilyjane0924]

I was able to get my Regions bank card added to Apple Pay and approved by the bank in about 13 minutes, and most of those were spent on the wrong line. They connected me to a different number but also gave me a direct line to call, 1 800 231 7493, and I was able to get my card approved there in only five-ish minutes.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I got it from Apple PR:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/201...form-Mobile-Payments-Starting-October-20.html



And from this article:



Yes there is a difference between "signed up" and "currently in use"

But the 500 number I quoted came from Apple themselves a month ago.

Hope that helps.

Not much, unless you are a fan of PR. The actual number is still sixteen, and that too is from Apple's own list. You might ask why only 3% of the "signed up" banks are actually providing the service, and why most of them are offering only limited implementations. I will believe that hundreds more banks are ready to get on board when I actually see them, and I will believe that the small banks are participating when I see at least one of them actually doing it.

 

[ILikeAllOS]

Here's the setup process so far for the Regions Check Card.

1. Enter the card into Passbook. No problem.
2. Passbook says that you have to call an 800 number to verify the card with Regions.
3. The 800 number doesn't have an option to verify for Apple Pay
4. Call 1-800-Regions. No relevant option and can't get to a real person
5. Call local branch. They have no idea what Apple Pay is and give you a different 800 number
6. Currently on hold while the first representative transfers me to a different representative.
7. Waiting...

It would be nice if Bank's like Regions let ALL of their representatives know what Apple Pay is and how it works before they make the announcement to the public.


Update: The first representative came back after 10 minutes and said there is an extended hold time for the second representative.

Status: Card not verified after 25 minutes of attempting.

I'm at the 53 minute mark on my regions call. 4 reps and countless holds. They seem to have heard about this ApplePay thing but that's about it.

59minutes and it's activated. Now I guess I need to take a trip to either disneyworld or mcdonalds to use it.

Jesus, remind me to never go with Regions.

I wonder what the possibility of small local banks adding Applepay is. I would love to use Applepay with my debit card, but my bank and all 5 of its location probably wont be offering it anytime soon.

Forget banks, I'm hoping the credit unions around here will eventually add Apple Pay!

 

[Michael Scrip]

Not much, unless you are a fan of PR. The actual number is still sixteen, and that too is from Apple's own list. You might ask why only 3% of the "signed up" banks are actually providing the service, and why most of them are offering only limited implementations. I will believe that hundreds more banks are ready to get on board when I actually see them, and I will believe that the small banks are participating when I see at least one of them actually doing it.

You asked where I got the 500 number... and I told you.

If you don't believe that 500 banks are actively working with Apple to get on board with Apple Pay... that's your deal.

But I showed my sources... where are yours?

Do you have proof that Apple is not working with all these new banks? Is Apple lying about all this?


BTW... there are a couple reports in this thread that Suntrust is now compatible with Apple Pay.

Yet Suntrust isn't on the magic list of 16... nor have they ever been listed in any Apple Pay documents revealed to the public.

So I wonder who else is coming on board...

 

[IJ Reilly]

You asked where I got the 500 number... and I told you.

If you don't believe that 500 banks are actively working with Apple to get on board with Apple Pay... that's your deal.

But I showed my sources... where are yours?

Do you have proof that Apple is not working with all these new banks? Is Apple lying about all this?


BTW... there are a couple reports in this thread that Suntrust is now compatible with Apple Pay.

Yet Suntrust isn't on the magic list of 16... nor have they ever been listed in any Apple Pay documents revealed to the public.

So I wonder who else is coming on board...

Um, my "source" is Apple. I provided the link, but I suppose you didn't notice.

The only thing I need to "prove" is that none of the small banks are currently providing Apple Pay, since that was my only point.

 

[centauratlas]

IMO unless those large grocery store chains add, apple pay won't be useful enough. To me the benefit should be that you don't have to carry your wallet with you all the time. But today there are only a few places accept (most are still not your daily shops) and you still have to carry your wallet with you all the time.

As was stated, security and not having the cards in the wallet is good.

I do agree, grocery is important. If you go to each of these sites and just ask "when are you going to support Apple Pay?" It will help. Add more too, but these are just some samples. The more people that ask, the better. All it will take is one chain to do it, and others will too.

Facebook.com/Publix
Facebook.com/winndixie
Facebook.com/vons
Facebook.com/ralphs

 

[Michael Scrip]

Um, my "source" is Apple. I provided the link, but I suppose you didn't notice.

Yes... I saw your link from Apple showing that 16 banks are currently active with Apple Pay.

And I posted a link from Apple saying that they are working with 500 upcoming banks... but you disregarded it.

It's funny though... your link is missing Suntrust and Regions Bank. Maybe it's time for Apple to update the list, huh.

The only thing I need to "prove" is that none of the small banks are currently providing Apple Pay, since that was my only point.

Large banks are better equipped to handle implementing this kind of system. Small banks might take some time.

I certainly haven't read anything that says small banks are avoiding Apple Pay.

We'll have to wait and see.

For the record... I use a small bank.