We have been hearing reports about Apple Pay potentially launching in Germany since 2016/2017. The good news is that if you live in Germany and want to use Apple Pay, you’ll be pleased to learn that Apple Pay has since launched in the country where initial support for it will be provided by Comdirect, Deutsche Bank, Fidor Bank, Hanseatic Bank, HypoVereinsbank and prepaid service Edenred.
As for retailers that will accept Apple Pay as payment, these include Aldi, Avia, Berhska, Cigo, Ditsch, dm, Galeria Kaufhof, HEM, Kaufland, Lidl, Netto, and Real, just to name a few, and just like we have seen in other countries, we expect that over time more retailers will hop on board with support of their own, but these are some of the companies that you can start with.
Apple Pay rollout has been admittedly a bit slow but given that there’s money involved and sensitive user information such as credit card details, we imagine that there are probably various regulatory hurdles to clear, which differ from country to country. Apple Pay still isn’t accepted in many countries around the world yet, and this gap is being taken advantage of by Apple’s competitors.
For example over in Asia, there are many alternatives to Apple Pay, such as WeChat Pay, Alipay, and Razer Pay, just to name a few, which means if and when Apple Pay does launch in those countries, competition will be stiff.
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