Visa, MasterCard comes to Apple Pay in Singapore
(22 February 2018 – Singapore) Technology giant, Apple has brought on board global credit card providers Visa and MasterCard, in addition to five major financial institutions, comprising of POSB, DBS, OCBC, Standard Chartered and UOB to its mobile payment platform, Apple Pay.
The platform launched in the city-state in 2016, with support from only American Express
According to reports, the five banks account for “more than 80 percent of the Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards issued in Singapore.”
“Apple users in Singapore can now use their iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch to make purchases in stores equipped with contactless readers with just a tap of their iPhone and a thumbprint or passcode for verification, or by simply holding their Apple Watch to the card reader,” MasterCard said in statement.
“Recent figures from MasterCard indicate that consumers in Singapore are supportive of the idea of adopting contactless payments. Consumers in Singapore are among Asia’s top three adopters of digital wallets and interest has been climbing steadily with one in four likely to use a digital wallet compared to just one in 20 three years ago.”
Group head and general manager of MasterCard Singapore, Deborah Heng added, “The biggest change we’ve seen in the payments space recently is the transformation of every electronic device into a shopping device, from mobile phones to watches.
“The readiness of Singapore’s consumers to embrace mobile payments, coupled with the rapid uptake of mobile payments, is quickly changing the dynamics of shopping and transacting online. With Apple Pay, MasterCard cardholders will have the flexibility and assurance to make secure digital payments wherever and whenever they want,” she said.
Subscribe