What you need to know
- Apple has rolled out its Apple Pay service to Belarus.
- It is now supported by BPS-Sberbank in the country.
- Both Visa and Mastercard will be supported.
Belarusian bank BPS-Sberbank has announced that it will now support Apple Pay, as Belarus becomes the 58th country to support the service.
The company website states:
Take full advantage of the BPS-Sberbank card with Apple Pay. This is a convenient, secure and confidential payment method.
As noted by 9to5Mac, BPS-Sberbank is the Belarusian arm of PJSC Sberbank, a state-owned Russian bank based in Moscow. It is one of the world's top 50 banks, and one of the largest in Europe, with 137M individual customers and 1 million business clients.
The news means Belarus is added to Apple's current list of 57 countries which now support Apple Pay. Further West, a law passed recently in Germany could force Apple to open up its NFC chip to rival mobile payment services, a move Apple says could harm user-friendliness, data protection and the security of financial information.
Elsewhere in Europe, popular travel pass provider Citymapper has announced that its Citymapper Pass now works with Apple Pay, meaning you can add it to your Wallet App. The feature is currently available in London, and there are reported plans to bring functionality to other cities around the world.
Citymapper Pass now works with Apple Pay!#thinnerwallet pic.twitter.com/Uq9rhNVOKnCitymapper Pass now works with Apple Pay!#thinnerwallet pic.twitter.com/Uq9rhNVOKn— C i t y m a p p e r (@Citymapper) November 19, 2019November 19, 2019
