Apple has been announcing a bunch of news about Apple Pay recently. The company is expanding its mobile payment feature more aggressively. As announced in yesterday’s earnings call, Apple Pay is coming to the UAE, Denmark, Finland and Sweden before the end of the year.
Apple hasn’t shared any specific information about those new countries. For instance, the company hasn’t named its financial partners or mentioned a launch date.
In addition to this expansion news, the company is also adding support for more banks in the U.S. and around the world. Most new banks are in the U.S., but there are also two Japanese banks, a bank in Canada, one in Australia and another one in the U.K.
While Apple Pay was only available in the U.S. at first, it is now available in 16 countries. It’s been more successful in some countries than others, but Apple shows clear signs of commitment with these regular expansions.
Apple is also working on iOS 11 for the iPhone and iPad. This new version of the company’s mobile operating system is going to add peer-to-peer payments. Starting in September, you’ll be able to send money to your friends using an iPhone with Apple Pay.
The company is integrating this feature directly into the Messages app. The Apple Pay feature is going to be an iMessage mini-app and is going to use your Apple Pay-compatible cards. And if you receive money, you’ll be able to spend this balance using Apple Pay or withdraw it.
Many companies are working on peer-to-peer payments, such as Venmo, Square Cash, Facebook’s Messenger, WeChat Pay and Alibaba’s Alipay. But integrating Apple Pay’s peer-to-peer payments directly into your phone could help the payment feature.