Apple Pay is Set to Launch in Germany

Apple Pay is about to launch in Germany. Banks such as HVB and Bunq this morning sent out emails to customers announcing their imminent support for Apple's mobile payment system in the country.

apple pay germany
Apple Pay is "coming soon" according to Apple's own regional German website, which lists supported banks and cards, including boon, comdirect, Edenred, Fidor Bank, Hanseatic Bank, and Vim Pay. We'll update this article as soon as we can confirm that Apple Pay is operational in Germany for end users.

Apple Pay support in Germany has been rumored for some time, while Apple has been working to establish deals over fees and other factors with German banks.

During a July earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook also confirmed that Apple planned to bring Apple Pay to Germany in late 2018.

(Thanks, Lukas!)

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Germany

Popular Stories

Apple iPhone 16e Feature

Apple Announces iPhone 16e With A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Pricing Starts at $599

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued. The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Aluminum Frame Instead of Titanium Frame

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models. In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Generic iOS 18

Here's When Apple Will Release iOS 18.4

Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch. All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

Here Are the New Apple Products We're Still Expecting This Spring

Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring. There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category. M4...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

Two of Apple's Oldest Products Are Finally Getting Updated This Year

Friday February 14, 2025 6:03 am PST by
Apple released the HomePod mini in November 2020, followed by the AirTag in May 2021, and both still remain first-generation products. Fortunately, rumors suggest that both the HomePod mini and the AirTag will finally be updated at some point this year. Below, we recap rumors about the HomePod mini 2 and AirTag 2. HomePod mini 2 In January 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple is ...

Top Rated Comments

Bug-Creator Avatar
82 months ago
That list of banks excludes the vast majority of of Germans atm.

So unless Apple can get the likes of Sparkasse,Volksbank,Postbank and DeutscheBank to join this won't get far.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Quasselstripper Avatar
82 months ago
That list of banks excludes the vast majority of of Germans atm.

So unless Apple can get the likes of Sparkasse,Volksbank,Postbank and DeutscheBank to join this won't get far.
I know lots of people who switched banks in order to use Apple Pay (e.g. N26).
The old Banks have no idea what a young generation wants – those banks will eventually die out.

That's what I thought. I have used to pay at Frankfurt airport just a few months ago.
Dude NFC payment is not limited to Apple Pay.
We have wireless credit cards for quite some time in Germany already (and thus the terminals). But as I said earlier, no bank supports it yet. So if you're German and have a German bank you cannot put your credit crd in Apple Pay.
I cannot believe it. Finally after all those years.
PARTY
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sillert Avatar
82 months ago

So unless Apple can get the likes of Sparkasse,Volksbank,Postbank and DeutscheBank to join this won't get far.
Deutsche Bank is included in the list of banks that will support Apple Pay from start. And most younger people don't use Sparkasse anyways.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
friednoodles Avatar
82 months ago
Maybe Germany should start using credit cards first, still find myself having to pay cash like 90% of the time.

Same in Austria/Japan, anyone got some insight?
Well, credit cards can be used in major stores in Japan, but part of it is to do with the prevalence of IC (stored value) cards like Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, etc which have been providing widespread contactless payments for a lot longer than credit cards have in other countries. Contactless IC cards have been around for about 17 years, and their use for transit means a huge proportion of people in Japan have been using them for a long time. They have no barrier to entry (because they aren't a credit card), they're faster to use than credit cards, they're widely accepted for purchases in stores, vending machines, etc, and can be recharged via a credit card or bank account automatically anyway.

So the long term prevalence of IC cards means credit cards have been the ones trying to play catch up. Why would someone use a credit card in Japan when IC cards have been around longer and accepted in way more places? (the "credit" nature of credit cards was also probably a hard sell culturally by banks in Japan after the distrust created by the Japanese financial crisis of the 1990s)

And also years before the iPhone even existed, IC cards were already available on phones in Japan in the form of what's known as Osaifu-Keitai (i.e. mobile wallet) support. Japan was well ahead of other countries in mobile phone technology in the 1990s and early 2000s.

So basically, IC cards were there first and still provide superior convenience today. (edit: I should clarify that all of the above is talking about every day purchases like food, taxis, convenience stores, supermarkets, buses, trains, vendors, and so on - for expensive purchases like buying a TV or other electronics, paying for a hotel, etc, credit cards will almost always be accepted in those situations anyway)

If you visit Japan, do yourself a favour and pick up a Suica card, or if you have an iPhone 8 or Apple Watch Series 3 or above, you can just create one directly in Apple Pay using the Suica app. This is what I did a couple of weeks ago when I was lucky enough to be able to make another visit.

Suica has been available on Apple Pay for a few years (starting with the Japan-specific models of the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2), and it's proven incredibly popular there. Apple Pay also natively supports the recharge of Suica cards from any Apple Pay Visa, Mastercard or Amex card as well, making it particularly handy for inbound travellers.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
friednoodles Avatar
82 months ago
This is interesting. On my last trip to Japan I tried adding a (physical) Suica card to Apple Pay but couldn't get it to work. Later I read in the Apple support article that the device region needs to be set to Japan. But that is a huge hassle for international travelers because (among other things) it will disable credit cards from your home country in Apple Pay AFAIK. Is there any way around this?

Also, they really need to add some other languages to the Suica app ...
If you want to transfer a physical Suica card to Apple Pay you need to change the region temporarily so that the option shows up, but this has no impact on your credit cards from your home country - they won't be deleted or disabled.

Yes, it would be handy if they would provide an English localisation for the Suica app :D It is a deceptively large app if you enable the full account functions, but most people will use it just to create a new Suica, which is much easier. (by the way, if you want to use the app to create a new Suica card, you don't even need to change the region)

For people wanting to visit Japan and use Suica, it's much easier/quicker if you create a new card using the Suica app rather than transfer a physical card into Apple Pay. Unlike a credit card, because Suica and other IC cards are stored value and not necessarily attached to any account or owner, they can only exist in one place at a time, so transferring a physical card in to Apple Pay permanently disables the original physical card.

There's a very detailed guide that describes how to use all the functions of the Suica app for non-Japanese speakers over here: https://atadistance.net/all-about-suica-app/ It covers how to create a new card, along with much more complicated functionality that I think most foreigners should avoid unless you know some Japanese.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdellepi Avatar
82 months ago
Did you note that it will support Visa, Amex, Mastercard and Maestro (EC)? That should have more than most people covered.
Nope. Apart from American Express, that's not how it works.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)