# Apple Pay to boost mobile payments in the UK

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/07/15/apple-pay-to-boost-mobile-payments-in-the-uk/
- Published: 2015-07-15T17:30:46+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Millions of Visa debit and credit cardholders in the UK can now use their iPhones
and other Apple mobile devices to make secure, contactless payment using Apple Pay.**

Apple Pay can be used to touch and pay wherever Visa contactless payment is accepted.
There are already more than 410,000 terminals in 250,000 locations accepting Visa
with Apple Pay.

Apple Pay works on iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Watch, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini
3.

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At launch, people who bank with MBNA, Nationwide, NatWest, RBS, Santander, and Ulster
Bank will be able to load their Visa debit or credit cards into Apple Pay with other
banks to follow in the coming months, including First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds,
and TSB.

Research by Visa Europe shows that there is a high demand for mobile payment solutions
with 60% of Apple product users surveyed wanting to pay for goods and services using
their mobile phone.

Jeremy Nicholds, Visa Europe, said:

> “The pieces of the puzzle are coming together for a seismic shift from plastic
> to digital”.

## How it works

When you add a Visa credit or debit card to Apple Pay, the actual payment card details
are not stored on the device nor on Apple’s servers. Instead, Visa generates a unique
token or Device Account Number which is assigned and stored on your device.

To set up Apple Pay, Visa card holders can either select the card currently used
in the iTunes account or they can add a new debit or credit card. When making a 
purchase in store, Visa cardholders just hold the iPhone to a contactless terminal
with their finger held to Touch ID.

Consumers will be covered by all the same benefits they currently receive with their
debit and credit cards, including fraud protection for unauthorised purchases and
widespread international acceptance.

## Are charities using it?

The day after it was introduced in the UK, we’ve not had confirmation from any charities
that they are using it. But [WhoacceptsApplePay](http://www.whoacceptsapplepay.co.uk/)
lists Barnardo’s and The National Trust as the first charity adopters.

Visa told us:

> “Merchants – including charity shops – that are already equipped for in-store 
> Visa contactless payments, do not need to make any changes to accept transactions
> using Visa cards in Apple Pay”.