Just over two months after word first broke that Samsung was considering an Apple Pay competitor, the South Korean conglomerate has reportedly acquired mobile payments startup LoopPay to bolster its efforts.
Apple continues to expand the reach of its popular mobile payment system, with the Cupertino company rolling out support for cards from nearly two dozen additional financial institutions — including major investment bank Morgan Stanley — on Wednesday.
Apple Pay's in-app purchasing capability is often overshadowed by its physical iPhone-powered NFC counterpart, but for big-box office supply chain Staples, the feature has quickly become the most popular method of payment processed by the company's iOS app.
According to a report late Monday, Apple is looking to expand Apple Pay operations into China, but the company may face an uphill battle as partnership talks with state-owned credit card operator UnionPay have stalled.
Speaking at the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection on Friday, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook revealed that the U.S. government plans to begin accepting Apple Pay for a number of transactions, starting with admission to U.S. national parks.
The White House on Friday revealed that users of federal payment cards, including Social Security and veterans benefit debit cards, will become compatible with Apple Pay.
The official Starbucks application for iOS was updated on Wednesday to add support for Apple Pay, allowing users to quickly reload their Starbucks Card with the press of a fingertip.
The Touch ID fingerprint sensor will get an upgrade this year with Apple's next-generation iPhone, according to well-connected insider Ming-Chi Kuo, who said on Tuesday that the new model will improve the Apple Pay experience with fewer reading errors.
Some frequent flyers will soon be able to use Apple Pay to order drinks or upgrade their seat for extra legroom, as U.S. airline JetBlue announced on Tuesday that it would start accepting Apple's mobile payment service on select flights next week.
Swiss timekeeping giant Swatch is planning a new smartwatch and mobile payment system to compete with the forthcoming Apple Watch and the already-established Apple Pay, the company's CEO has said.
Millions more consumers now have access to Apple Pay as BECU, Golden 1, Alliant, and First Tech — four of the ten largest credit unions in the country — have been added as partners alongside leading regional banks BBVA Compass and Fifth Third, while Samsung is rumored to introduce a payments program of its own at the Galaxy S6 launch next month.
The strong initial success of Apple Pay, combined with the news that eBay will spin off PayPal, has led to expectations that PayPal could be a major acquisition target for mobile companies vying for users' wallets.
Apple Pay now accounts for two out of every three dollars processed through contactless payment systems, a huge achievement for Apple's NFC-based solution that debuted less than three months ago.
More than 200,000 self-service stations across America — including vending machines, coffee brewers, parking pay stations, kiosks and laundry equipment — will gain compatibility with Apple Pay, thanks to support from USA Technologies Inc.
Thousands of Western Union locations will begin accepting Apple Pay, the company announced on Tuesday, providing customers a way to transfer money and pay bills with their iPhone.
It appears that eBay is stocking up on talent in preparation of an inevitable separation from PayPal, the latest hire being Bora Chung, a payments expert who served as Apple's worldwide payments for the Online Apple Store since 2010.
Starting this weekend at the Waste Management Open, Apple Pay contactless payments on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available for select food and beverage concessions purchases at the PGA Tour.
Apple on Tuesday added 16 new bank and credit union partners for its Apple Pay mobile payments service, including brands from 2 of the 50 largest U.S. bank holding companies with Zions Bancorp and Huntington Bancshares.
A report on Friday claims Google is looking to strengthen its mobile payments solution with the purchase of Softcard, an NFC-based system backed by major U.S. wireless telecoms.
Apple Pay launch partner Bank of America on Thursday revealed that nearly 800,000 of its customers had signed up for Apple's nascent mobile payments initiative, bringing 1.1 million cards to the service in the last three months.
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AppleInsider Staff
Mikey Campbell
Neil Hughes
Sam Oliver
