Apple Pay picks up 40 new supporting US banks, total nears 800 mark

As has become common in recent months, most of today's additions are smaller regional institutions, rather than nationwide businesses. Most of the major U.S. banks were quick to join Apple Pay in late 2014.

Merchant support has been a greater problem for Apple. Though the company has a wide number of announced partners, many of them have yet to start taking payments, presumably because of the need to upgrade point-of-sale terminals to support NFC-based transactions.

Domino's Pizza is slated to launch support by the end of 2015 however, and companies like Cinnabon, Chili's, KFC, and Starbucks will go live in 2016. JCPenney should come on board this spring.

The full list of new banks includes:

• American Heritage Federal Credit Union
• Associated Credit Union
• Bangor Savings Bank
• Bank of Bourbonnais
• Bank of Clovis
• Bank of the Pacific
• Baton Rouge Telco Federal Credit Union
• BHCU
• Cardinal Bank
• Corning Credit Union
• First Financial Credit Union (IL)
• First National Bank of Trenton
• First Nations Bank
• First Republic Bank
• Flint Area School Employees Credit Union
• Glass City Federal Credit Union
• Guaranty Bank and Trust Company
• Hawthorn Bank
• Hills Bank and Trust Company
• Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union
• Leader Bank, N.A.
• Michigan Tech Employees Federal Credit Union
• Midcoast Federal Credit Union
• Oatworth Capital Bank
• Ohio Valley Bank
• Partnership Financial Credit Union
• Penn Liberty Bank
• Police and Fire Federal Credit Union
• Prime Merdian Bank
• Reading Cooperative Bank
• Republic Bank
• Section 705 Federal Credit Union
• Secured Advantage Federal Credit Union
• Southern Bank
• Southwest Missouri Bank
• TowneBank
• West Plains Bank and Trust Company
• WesTex Federal Credit Union
• Wilmington Savings Fund Society
• WSFS Bank