Apple Pay expands to 22 US banks, institutions in Russia, China and more

By AppleInsider Staff

Apple this week updated its Apple Pay availability website for the second time in August, noting additional support has rolled out in the service's domestic U.S. market, as well as in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Russia and the UK.

As usual, the U.S. Apple Pay additions are limited to smaller regional banks and credit unions, with 22 entries tacked on to Apple's rolling list of participating institutions.

Beyond the U.S., Australia's Latitude Financial Services and RACQ now support Apple's payments solution. In China, six institutions -- Beijing Rural Commercial Bank, Haikou Rural Commercial Bank, Jiangsu Jiangnan Rural Commercial Bank, Jiangsu Jiangyin Rural, Commercial Bank, Shengjing Bank, Yunnan Rural Credit Cooperatives -- flipped the switch on Apple, while Dahsing Bank in Hong Kong jumped on board with support for issued Mastercard and Visa credit cards.

Apple Pay went live for a number of Russian institutions this month, with Bank "Devon-Credit," Credit Union "Payment Center" Ltd. (Mastercard Prepaid cards), Khlynov, Kuban Credit, Levoberezhny, Primsotcbank and Sovcombank all coming on line within the past two weeks.

Finally, customers of UK's Cumberland Building Society can now take advantage of Apple's payments service.

A full list of U.S. additions:

Apple Pay has enjoyed a steady international expansion over the past few months, with additions arriving on a regular bimonthly basis.

After launching in the U.S. in 2014, Apple's payments product is now available in Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland Taiwan and the U.K. Most recently, the service arrived in Italy in May.

When iOS 11 launches this fall, Apple plans to bolster Apple Pay's capabilities with Apple Pay Cash, a long-awaited feature that enables person-to-person fund transfers.