Apple Pay comes to Switzerland

According to rumors, Apple Pay should have been launched in Switzerland in the next few days. But nothing will come of it. As 20min.ch reports, software chief Craig Federighi promised a Swiss launch "in the next few months" on Monday night in San Francisco.

The service is also to be made available in France. So far, it has been available in Europe in the UK. According to the news agency SDA, no details were given on a launch date in other European countries. Apple Pay can be used at POS devices equipped for contactless payment via NFC radio. The industry is gradually equipping all terminals with it. As a next step, Apple also wants to let people pay for online purchases on a computer via its service. Instead of a password or PIN code, the payment will be confirmed by fingerprint on a connected iPhone.

Twint and Apple Pay with similar timelines

The Swiss competition is probably happy with the delay. Not least in response to the imminent market entry of Apple's payment service, the two big players Twint and Paymit have joined forces and merged (Werbewoche.ch reported). The U.S. group had already registered the Apple Pay brand with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in March. The five largest Swiss banks Credit Suisse, Postfinance, Raiffeisen, UBS and ZKB, the financial infrastructure service provider SIX, the retailers Coop and Migros, and Swisscom have subsequently agreed to pull together and combine the advantages of the two payment systems Twint and Paymit under the name Twint. The joint solution is expected to be ready in fall 2016 - around the same time that Apple Pay becomes available for Switzerland.

Twint welcomes competition

In a first reaction to Apple's announced market entry, Twint is confident in a statement and "welcomes another competitor that will further sensitize users to mobile payments." Competition would help make mobile payment solutions even more attractive, CEO Thierry Kneissler is quoted as saying. "The market, the willingness of interested parties and consumers will determine how the various solutions will be able to position themselves," the statement sent Monday evening added. (hae)

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