Visa to Launch Tokenization in Europe in Mid-April for Mobile Payments

applepayVisa announced on Tuesday that it will be rolling out tokenization in Europe, an essential technology that allows for secure and convenient contactless payments using various technologies (via The Next Web). The tokenization service will be available to financial institutions in mid-April and helps pave the way for the launch of Apple Pay in Europe.

“This is an exciting time to be in the payment industry. We believe that 2015 will be the year that mobile payments will be in the hands of consumers across Europe," said Sandra Alzetta, Executive Director, Core Products for Visa Europe. "Tokenisation is one of the most important technologies to emerge in digital payments and has the potential to start a whole new chapter in the kinds of products that are developed."

Visa, MasterCard and American Express were among the credit card companies that launched tokenization in the United States ahead of the launch of Apple Pay last October. The technology replaces your credit card information with a randomized series of numbers during payment authorization to secure your account details when you tap your smartphone on a contactless payment terminal.

Apple Pay remains limited to the United States, although an international expansion could start with Canada as early as March. The NFC-based mobile payments service requires an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, and will also be compatible with the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5 when paired with an Apple Watch.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Visa

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

chfilm Avatar
128 months ago
Bring it on Apple! Want Apple Pay in Germany! :)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avanpelt Avatar
128 months ago
My guess is that Apple will announce Apple Pay coming to Europe and Canada as part of the Apple Watch event that is expected to happen within the next several weeks.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Menel Avatar
128 months ago
Interesting news. I had no idea Tokenisation had yet to be rolled out in Europe.

Judging by the comments here over the last few months you'd think Apple were solely responsible for "holding back" Apple pay - like that was of benefit to them...

Good to here the pieces are falling into place, looking forward to an official launch later this year.
This was known, and discussed.

The same reason not even all USA Banks are supported. The banks(card issuers) have to implement technology on their end to support the tokenization. This is critical to the security of the system.

Apple's role is merely to authenticate your card (PAN), into the DAN (device account number). They drop the PAN. At the time of transaction they send the DAN+time based crypto. Apple is done at this point.

DAN+time based crypto gets passed through payment processor to the issuing bank, and VISA/MC/AMEX + the issuing bank has to be able to handle it.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lazyrighteye Avatar
128 months ago
:apple:Pay is why I would have money invested in Apple, if I could afford the risks of investing.

It's why I got in when I did - albeit super late. But still, better at $94 than continuing to kick myself for not investing.

No wait - Apple is doomed. ;)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sandstorm Avatar
128 months ago
Exellent news! Bring it on (and don't leave out the smaller EU countries)! :)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
128 months ago
I hope Transport for London are are up to speed with supporting this.

Being able to use Apple Pay on the Tube, without fishing around in my pockets for a card (or phone), will be my #1 or #2 reason for buying an iWatch !
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)