Apple Pay now in Australia? Its badges seem to say so

The Apple Pay badge icon has started showing-up in Apple's Maps app listings for certain stores across Australia, including Coles and Woolworth’s supermarket chains in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth. These badges symbolise shops that support Apple Pay.

The information was shared by app users on AppleTalk Australia’s forum. However, it’s unclear if the stores were added by mistake or if the listings actually indicate the launch of the payment service in Australia.

Apple Pay was first launched in the United States in October 2014 followed by the United Kingdom this July. There are reports Apple will soon launch its mobile payment service in Canada. Apple Pay might be rolled out to more than one country in one go, according to iMore.

Canada will be the third country to get the Apple Pay service and many retailers have started advertising their contactless payment terminals will support the service. The service will be rolled out at select restaurant chains later this month.

Apple is in talks with Royal Bank of Canada, TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal, CIBC and the National Bank of Canada to launch its payment service in the country.

Last August, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Australia’s largest banks and financial institutions aren’t ready to shell out hefty interchange fees to Apple Pay. Apple is said to earn 15¢ on every $100 of transactions in the U.S. The company seems to be asking an equal interchange fee in Australia that will see Apple earn $2 billion a year.

China is on the list of possible countries in Apple Pay’s global expansion plans, although the NFC chips used in the iPhone do not comply with Chinese technical standards, according to a report by MacRumors.

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