Apple Reveals More About Apple Pay In The UK

Apple has published an FAQ on its website to clarify a host of details about how Apple Pay will work in the UK when it launches in the UK next month.

The post, which hopes to address some of the main queries of retailers and users, confirmed Apple Pay will work with any existing contactless reader and that users will be limited to transactions of £20 or less.

However this will change from September, when the rules surrounding contactless payments change to allow transactions of up to £30.

Apple Pay UK

“Accepting Apple Pay is faster than accepting traditional credit and debit cards,” the company wrote. “Customers no longer need to spend time searching for their wallet and finding the right card to pay in shops. Within apps, your customers can check out with a single touch.”

As expected, Apple Pay works with Visa, MasterCard and American Express cards and existing payment providers, meaning most retailers will be able to accept it using their current contactless Point of Sale (PoS) terminal if the payment provider has enabled the service.

To show off that they accept the technology, merchants can now download a payment mark for their PoS displays, and also order decals to put in their shop windows.

Tap and go

Concerning fraud, Apple explains that, as in-store Apple Pay transactions are treated in the same way as current credit and debit transactions, merchants will have the same liability rules applied to Apple Pay transactions.

Within apps, Apple Pay transactions are treated “more favourably” than standard credit and debit cards transactions, the company says, and liability for the transaction is typically shifted to the issuer.

But Apple does recommend contacting your payment provider to verify how you can benefit from liability shift for Apple Pay payments within your app.

Returns have also been revolutionised, as customers can now just hold their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, or Apple Watch near the reader, select the card they used to make the original payment, and authorise the return with Touch ID or passcode on iPhone, or by double-clicking the side button on Apple Watch.

Alternatively, merchants can use the Device Account Number to find the purchase and process the return, just like they would with a traditional credit or debit card payment, which can now be accessed on the iPhone Passbook app and the Apple Watch’s Passbook & Apple Pay service.

Apple revealed at its WWDC event last month that Apple Pay will launch in the UK in July, although there’s no concrete date yet.

Thanks to partnerships with the likes of RBS, Natwest, Santander, Lloyds, TSB and HSBC, the system will support 70 percent of all debit and credit cards and 250,000 retailers – more than the US launch.

All clued up on mobile payments? Try our quiz!