Apple Pay is reportedly launching in Switzerland next Monday, June 13 -- the same day that WWDC kicks off, potentially signaling that an expansion throughout Europe could be announced.
The country's Cornèr Bank will be one of the first participating card issuers, Swiss site Finews claimed on Tuesday. It's not clear if other banks like Credit Suisse and UBS might be joining in. If they're not participating at launch, they could sign up later on.
In any case the possibility of Apple Pay in Switzerland has been public record since February, when Apple filed a trademark with the country's intellectual property office.
If Apple Pay does launch in Switzerland next Monday, it's possible the debut could be tied to a larger series of announcements related to the mobile transaction service. Apple is set to hold a keynote presentation to kick off its annual Worldwide developers conference that same day at 10 a.m., which would be an opportune time for Apple to announce expanded Apple Pay availability.
The service's footprint in Europe has so far been restricted to the U.K., as even a promised 2016 launch in Spain has yet to take place. In fact the only other regions with Apple Pay to date are Australia, Canada, Singapore, mainland China, and the United States. Hong Kong is also due later this year.
Rumors have hinted that Brazil, France, and Japan will get Apple Pay in the future. Apple itself though has only promised that it is "working rapidly" to launch in Asia and Europe, and eventually reach "every significant market" the company is in.