Roger Fingas
One year after it debuted in the U.S., Apple Pay NFC-based mobile payments may finally be on the verge of launching in Canada, a leak by local bank TD Canada Trust hinted on Tuesday.
A footer on the bank's website briefly offered a link to an Apple Pay page, according to iPhone in Canada. Though now pulled, the page explained that TD customers would be able to add personal credit and access cards to Apple's service. It noted that individual transactions would be limited to $100, "subject to change."
TD's U.S. subsidiary, TD Bank, launched Apple Pay support in December 2014, which would make its parent company likely to be among the first Canadian backers.
An expansion of Apple Pay to Canada has been rumored for sometime. Reports have typically pointed toward November.
Neither Apple nor TD have offered a timetable, but the creation of promotional materials may suggest that TD has entered an agreement and is gearing up to launch support in the near future. Apple Canada has also reportedly registered applepay.ca.
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56 Comments
Well it's about time!
I suspect CIBC/PCF will be forced to follow suit shortly.
Well it's about time!
I suspect CIBC/PCF will be forced to follow suit shortly.
How's the NFC terminal situation in Canada? Retailers having the equipment would be the other end of the necessary equation. Is it mostly tapping or dipping? I just went to a car repair place and had my first chip card dipping experience: seemed to take a very long time and I didn't like it.
[quote name="jfc1138" url="/t/189134/bank-website-accidentally-teases-upcoming-apple-pay-launch-in-canada#post_2790258"] How's the NFC terminal situation in Canada? Retailers having the equipment would be the other end of the necessary equation. Is it mostly tapping or dipping? I just went to a car repair place and had my first chip card dipping experience: seemed to take a very long time and I didn't like it. [/quote] Canada has had contactless and chip-enabled terminals for [B]years[/B]. First there was MasterCard PayPass, then Visa PayWave, then Interac Flash. That's why Apple Pay isn't that big a deal in Canada. The US has been slooow as molasses, actually still using swipe-and-signature in most retail establishments.
[quote name="jspence444" url="/t/189134/bank-website-accidentally-teases-upcoming-apple-pay-launch-in-canada#post_2790265"]Canada has had contactless and chip-enabled terminals for [B]years[/B]. […] That's why Apple Pay isn't that big a deal in Canada.[/quote] Why are there still so many stupid comments and misconceptions about Apple Pay when it's been available for a year now. I kind of understand why there were so many idiotic comments about how cards with chips in them are better, or how Google Wallet is the same as Apple Pay, but it's been a fucking year already. Those people should know by now how Apple Pay differs and why it's a big deal to the future of secure mobile payments.
One thing I have noticed with Apple Pay is that the session can time out pretty quickly, so if you are in the grocery checkout and you initiate Apple Pay a few minutes before the clerk finishes ringing up your items, Apple Pay will have timed out and you will have to reinitiate the payment. With a traditional credit card transaction that never happened.