Apple has inadvertently confirmed that its mobile wallet and online payment system, Apple Pay, is coming to Europe by posting a job advertisement on its website.
The advert, which has now been taken down, said that the company was seeking a London-based intern to “drive out the roll-out” of Apple Pay across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa.
“Apple Pay is a new and exciting area in Apple that is set to expand across Europe, Middle East, India and Africa,” read the advert. “Apple Pay will change the way consumers pay with breakthrough contactless payment technology and unique security features built right into their iPhone 6 or Apple Watch to pay in an easy, secure, and private way.”
Apple Pay comprises two related services that both require close links between Apple and existing banks. The first is an in-app payment tool, which developers can implement to allow customers to make purchases without entering credit card details. In apps such as Uber, users will instead be able to pay by simply tapping the touch ID sensor of an iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3.
Contactless technology
The second service allows users to buy items in stores using their NFC-enabled iPhone 6, or their Apple Watch - which is yet to go on sale.
In the US, Apple Pay has taken considerable preparation because of the need to ensure retailers have compatible hardware. However, existing technology in many European shops should make the task easier on this side of the Atlantic.
The technology works with the same terminals as contactless payments, so retailers that already accept those cards should be able to use Apple Pay with the flick of a switch.
On top of the promise of increased ease of use, Apple is touting the security benefits of its service. Unlike paying with a card online, or a swipe-card in stores (still common in the US) that reveals all the information on the card to the merchant, Apple Pay sends a one-use token.
That means in the case of a hack such as the widespread data theft from US retailers Target and Home Depot earlier this year, the stolen information cannot be used to authorise further transactions.
Further, the company promises that users are doubly secured if they lose their device. Not only does the system need a fingerprint to initiate a transaction, it can also be remotely disabled.
