Roger Fingas
Barclays should, after a long wait, add support for Apple Pay sometime in mid- to late March, according to an email from one of the U.K. bank's top executives.
"We will launch Apple Pay, as committed, within the next 60 to 75 days," said Ashok Vaswani, the CEO of Barclays' Personal and Corporate Banking division, in an email shared on Twitter. Though only recently made public the message was dated Jan. 12, which would suggest the March timeframe.
Apple Pay first came to the U.K. in July 2015, and most of the country's biggest banks signed on within the first two months. All the time Barclays was promising support, but by October the company had shifted its window until "very early in the New Year."
Indeed the company's track history could leave room for another delay, but Vaswani's claim is the most specific made so far.
The existing situation has created bad publicity, with some frustrated iPhone owners threatening to switch banks unless the company makes the leap.
Marko Zivkovic
Wesley Hilliard
Andrew Orr
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
4 Comments
I also received an email from Ashok Vaswani in answer to my own query on the matter, but on 24th January which stated exactly the same "60 - 75 days". Since this is a gap of 12 days, I would have expected my email to say, '60 - 63 days'
If the deal I had on my credit card wasn't so good, I would have left a long time ago. What a shambles. :(
They were hoping their own 'BPay' would catch on instead of being the insecure, rubbish that it is. An RFID sticker on the back of my phone does not cut it, Barclays!
Let's hope they do eventually get over themselves and their failed attempt and come through on their promise to support Apple Pay with their 'BarclayCard' VISA and 'Connect' Debit cards.
I did jump to First Direct and love Apple Pay. First Direct have also just added TouchID