Tech

Apple Pay Taps New Banks To Be More Accessible To Users

Karen Lawson
First Posted: Jun 10, 2016 05:40 AM EDT

Apple Pay has announced its expansion and will now be supported by at least 30 new banks and credit unions in the United States.

Just last week, Apple Pay also announced that is now being supported by Canada's top five banks. Apple Pay's Jennifer Bailey, said that the company is actually working rapidly in some more areas, especially in Europe and Asia. Last month, Apple Pay formalized partnership with five banks in Singapore. The full list of banks and credit unions is available in Apple's website.

Apple Pay is apparently widening its reach. The company is exerting effort to make the digital payment service available to every place where there are Apple products.

Apple is trying to revolutionize bank and payments and transactions through the introduction of Apple Pay. It works through various Apple gadgets such as iPhone 6, iPhone 6 plus, Apple Watch, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 plus, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 4. The newest unit, iPhone SE also has the Apple Pay feature.   

However, users need to set up Apple Pay in their phones. This can be done by opening the Wallet app on iOS 9. There will be a set of easy-to-follow instructions that will guide the users. A debit or credit card has to be linked with the user's account.

As of today, the modern payment service is available in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, and the United Kingdom.

Apple Pay was officially introduced in 2014 during an iPhone 6 event. Apple CEO Tim Cook said it is an attempt to break the reliance on magnetic stripe payment that is often similar to "insecure security codes" and "exposed numbers".

Apple worked to put an extra level of security in this digital payment system. It has a two-factor authentication that requires users to place their fingerprint in the reader while the phone is being scanned. This helps in protecting the users from any potential wireless attack.

The company is expected to expand further in the coming months.

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