Apple Pay Heads To The UK

Apple is in discussions with at least one major U.K. bank to introduce its “wave and pay” Apple Pay technology in the U.K. in the first half of the new year, but reports say the process has troubled by speed bumps over terms of the deal.

Unnamed sources say Apple and one bank – which was not disclosed – are discussing the terms of establishing Apple Pay for shoppers, and a significant potion of the debate surrounds the level of access Apple will have to bank customers’ data. The bank is reportedly uncomfortable with how much information Apple wants to collect, though sources noted that financial institutions are not willing to miss out on business by denying a deal with Apple Pay.

Apple first rolled out the service in the U.S. earlier this year to mixed results as several major retailers, including Wal-Mart and Best Buy, declined to accept the technology as payment. Still, industry experts consider Apple Pay’s rollout a success, as data showed Apple Pay accounted for 1 percent of all digital payments in the month of November – its first full month in operation.

The promising results have propelled discussions of Apple Pay spreading to other parts of the world; while U.K. banks appear cautious of jumping head-first into working with Apple on the service, it seems the potential gains could be too high to miss out on.