Apple Pay picks up 24 more US banks & credit unions plus British Airways bookings
Roger Fingas
Apple on Tuesday added another 24 banks and credit unions to the list supporting Apple Pay in the U.S., filling in an increasingly small set of coverage gaps. British Airways, meanwhile, introduced limited support for the the platform in its iOS app.
As has become standard, the expanded U.S. compatibility concentrates on regional institutions, some operating in a single city. Most national banks were onboard by early 2015, not long after Apple Pay's official debut in Oct. 2014.
The full list of additions includes:
- BankLiberty
- CinFed Credit Union
- Cumberland County Federal Credit Union
- Denmark State Bank
- Family Security Credit Union
- Franklin Savings Bank
- Gates Chili Federal Credit Union
- Great River Federal Credit Union
- Greenfield Banking Company
- Heritage Community Credit Union
- Labette Bank
- Lake Trust Credit Union
- Michigan Educational Credit Union
- Natco Credit Union
- Neches Federal Credit Union
- Old Point National Bank
- Peach State Bank & Trust
- Pioneer Bank (incl. New Mexico and New York)
- River City Bank
- Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution
- SELCO Community Credit Union
- Shell Federal Credit Union
- Shrewsbury Federal Credit Union
- The Mission Bank
The British Airways iPhone app now offers Apple Pay for booking flights. At the moment, however, this is limited to flyers in the U.K., who must also pay with Visa or MasterCard. More card types will be supported in the future, the airline said.
The main issue in growing Apple Pay has been less bank support (Australia notwithstanding) than merchants. A number of apps, websites, and retailers do support the platform, but many still don't — particularly in the U.S., where retailers have been slow to upgrade point-of-sale terminals with the NFC technology required for in-person transactions.
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