Apple CEO Tim Cook says mobile payment service Apple Pay will soon be available in Ukraine.
During Apple’s earnings call on May 1 afternoon, Cook said, “Norway, Poland, and Ukraine to get Apple Pay in coming months.”
Cook provided neither the precise launch date nor any other details of the digital payment service roll-out, beyond the announcement that it would be coming, however. The company is allegedly still negotiating transaction fees with regional banks.
Apple Pay is a function available on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and Apple Watches that allows users to enter their credit and debit card details onto a device and use them to make payments online and in-store.
Apple brings the service to countries only once a certain quantity of iPhones and contactless debit and credit machines are present, as Apple Pay is compatible only with them.
Rumors about Apple Pay entering Ukraine have been circulating for a year.
In August 2017, the Ukrainian Intellectual Property Institute published a document that said Apple had registered two trademarks in Ukraine: Premium Reseller and Siri. Siri is the name of the Apple voice assistant built-in to tech giant’s products.
According to Ukrainian tech publication AIN.ua, in Ukraine Apple Pay will cooperate with the country’s biggest bank, PrivatBank, which has already launched here a similar service by Google, Android Pay. Other banks are to follow.
The service’s worldwide transactions have tripled year-over-year in the most recent period, which would indicate significant popularity within the service’s existing markets.
Apple presented Apple Pay in 2014 in the United States, and since then it has started servicing 16 countries around the globe. Since the beginning of the year it has rolled out in only one more country – Brazil.
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