Russia recently joined the platoon of major markets where users can tap into Apple Pay. Owners of iPads, iPhones and Apple Watches in the country can now provision Mastercard credit cards and use the service at select vendors.
The company announced the news via its regional website, which reads that Apple Pay users in the Russian market need to have Sberbank or Mastercard to use the service. No official plans are in tow for further expanding the list of partners. However, it should be mentioned that it is customary for Apple to access multiple credit card operators as well as several local financial enterprises after in starts to roll out its payment service in a market.
The list of retailers that will accept Apple Pay contains names such as TsUM, M.Video, Media Markt, Magnit, bp, Azbuka Vkusa, Auchan, ATAK and authorized Apple reseller re:Store. The payment method is bound to hit the Eldorado electronics store, as well as Burger King soon enough.
Apple Pay is also useful for in-app purchases and web-based payments with macOS 10.12. At the time of the writing, it was hard to tell how many Russian-developed apps and online vendors offer the integration.
Reuters reports that Russia is the tenth country where Apple Pay opened up its service.
Opening up Apple Pay in the country is part of an international push from the iPhone developers. The payments service went live in Switzerland during summer. In June, Apple inked deals with all the five major Canadian banking institutions. Prior to that development, Apple Pay signed with five major banks in Singapore.
The payment service debuted in 2014 in the United States and entered additional markets since then, setting foot in the U.K., Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, China, Canada, Australia and the recent Russia.
Apple Pay shows increased lift in its home country, which posed Apple to focus on growing its overseas arm in Asia and Europe. The aim of the company is to make sure that Apple Pay is available in all major markets where iDevices are sold.
Rumors surfaced that New Zealand is in the books to be the next market where Apple will deploy its payment service. This April, ANZ became the first of Australia's big four banks to adopt Apple's service, and the bank might facilitate the service for New Zealand, as well.
Insiders familiar with the matter are hinting that the company is negotiating with financial institutions from Taiwan and Kenya for a future expansion.
