Apple offers mobile payment service

Author: Thomas Wandler
Date: 06.08.2018

Apple Pay in Germany from the end of 2018

Apple now also offers its mobile payment service Apple Pay in Germany. According to CEO Tim Cook, the service will be launched at the end of the year. Apple Pay is already available in the US, Australia, China, France and Italy. Apple will cooperate with Deutsche Bank, said a spokesman of the bank.

The Deutsche Bank has been offering mobile payment for Android phones for some time now, but this has not been a major breakthrough so far. From around 300,000 customers, the number of users is a five-digit number. The bank did not announce how many customers exactly use the offer. However, there are many more Apple users among Deutsche Bank’s customers than in the general population. Because of that, the introduction of Apple Pay could bring more users to mobile payment.

Mobile payment on Apple devices only with Apple Pay

So far, no mobile payment services could be set up on Apple devices in Germany, because the company did not want to unlock the technical interface in the iPhone for banks. Apple Pay will be the only payment system available on the smartphones. Banks that want to offer their customers the service via iPhone have to pay a fee to Apple. The negotiations about the height were very long between Apple and the Deutsche Bank.

If the customer chooses a credit card as a means of payment, dealers must pay a fee to the respective bank. In Europe, these amounts to a maximum of 0.3 percent of the value, in other countries, the sum is significantly higher. So far Apple has given no precise information on the percentage that is required by the banks. According to experts, this should amount to 0.25 percent of the revenue. This would bring Apple a large part of profit in Germany, which the Deutsche Bank did not agree with.

Deutsche Banken ready for cooperations

Now, the banks have relented because the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken are “in principle open to a possible cooperation”. According to stories, the Sparkassen, which have just launched their own mobile payment service for Android this week, will also be at the start when Apple Pay is launched. However, there was no official statement in this regard.

Mobilbank N26 is also ready for collaboration:”N26 has already made Apple Pay successfully available to customers in five countries. We are looking forward to the start in Germany” said CEO Valentin Stalf. ING Diba wants to wait and see how paying with contactless cards will work before they introduce mobile payment.

How does Apple Pay works

Like on other mobile payment services, customers have to load an app on the smartphone and, depending on the institution, deposit a debit MasterCard, a giro card or credit card. At the cash register, the smartphone or smartwatch is held at the point-of-sale terminal, which transmits the data via NFC radio. Meanwhile, about 75 percent of terminals are NFC-capable and 60 percent accept contactless giro cards, according to the Deutsche Giro- und Sparkassenverband.

Apple Pay will also be a possible payment method for online purchases or apps. Through this Apple becomes a competitor not only for other mobile payment systems in Germany but also for providers such as PayPal.