The worlds first Apple Pay rival for iPhones has launched, but it might bring some drawbacks

Date:
Mon, 09 Dec 2024 15:30:00 +0000

Description:
An Apple Pay rival has launched in Europe heres what it means for tap-to-pay.

FULL STORY ======================================================================The worlds first Apple Pay alternative has launched in Norway It could prompt other services to follow suit in Europe There are both benefits and drawbacks to this move

Apple Pay lets you wirelessly pay for almost anything using just your
iPhone, but for years, its been locked down so that only Apple can add new features. That means Apple fans have been denied the choice of other
providers who might bring new ideas to the table but thats just changed in a seismic way for European users.

Norwegian payment service Vipps has just launched its own Apple Pay rival
the first such service in the world letting its customers pay for items with their iPhone without ever having to go through Apples own service. That could open the door to many other Apple Pay rivals hitting the scene.

Vipps tap-to-pay scheme supports roughly 70% of Norways banking customers.
So, you can now change your default payment service to Vipps instead of Apple Pay if you're among the select few. Itll work at any payment terminal that works with BankAxept cards Norways national payment system which covers about 90% of payment terminals in the country.

According to a machine-translated version of Vipps blog post marking the announcement, the company will add more simplifications, support for international cards and more banks continuously. Support for Visa and MasterCard is reportedly coming in the next few months, and worldwide
payments should be made available before summer 2025.

Currently, Vipps service is only available in Norway, but there are plans to extend it to Denmark, Finland, and Sweden in 2025. Pros and cons

Vipps Apple Pay rival offers all the same features as Apples option,
including verification using Face ID, Touch ID , or your device passcode. Now that Apple has opened up access to its NFC system , other providers may introduce missing features from Apple Pay, which could add a dash of competition to a solution that has been restricted to Apple since its inception.

That said, a move like this might not be entirely positive. It means another system that vendors will have to support, potentially fragmenting payment options for users. In addition, you need to trust that Vipps Apple Pay alternative is safe while Apple is well-known for its device security, Vipps is a less well-known name for people outside of Norway to place their trust in.

And before you get too excited, this kind of move will likely be limited to Europe for the time being. It all happened because the European Union (EU) forced Apple to open up the NFC payment system that underlies Apple Pay to other companies, which has paved the way for Vipps to launch its offering.

Still, it shows that alternatives to Apple Pay are possible, at least in Europe. It will be interesting to see if other firms join Vipps, what new features come about as a result of more competition, and whether Apple is spurred into improving Apple Pay for its users. You might also like iOS 18.1 will open up contactless payments on your iPhone, but that could be a mixed blessing Apple agrees to open up Apple Pay in the EU here's what that means for tap-to-pay Apple Pay added new ways to pay, like card rewards and installment plans



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/the-worlds-first-apple-pay-rival-for-iphones- has-launched-but-it-might-bring-some-drawbacks


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