Singapore banks prepare customers for Apple Pay

Source: Apple Singapore website. DBS, POSB, UOB and Standard Chartered will support Apple Pay in Singapore in future.

Source: Apple website. Din Tai Fung, NTUC's FairPrice supermarkets, G2000 and Starbucks are some of the brands which will accept Apple Pay in Singapore.

Apple Singapore's website now has a dedicated page for Apple Pay, including a list of supporting banks and retail outlets. Of the banks listed, DBS and POSB have near-identical images on their websites, while UOB also has a dedicated page up. Standard Chartered has nothing for now, however.

Source: DBS website. A link on the DBS home page leads to a notice that Apple Pay is coming.

Source: UOB website. The UOB image features the Apple Pay logo. 

The DBS page explains that Apple Pay is a fast, secure way to pay that works with an Apple device owner's preferred DBS card. Contactless payments are also possible with the iPhone and Apple Watch.

"Apple Pay is the new, easy and secure way to pay using your UOB debit or credit cards," the UOB page says. "Make contactless payments in shops with your iPhone and Apple Watch. Earn the same rewards for using your physical UOB debit or credit cards."

OCBC is not listed as an Apple Pay partner in Singapore, but does have an Apple Watch app which it launched in late March. The OCBC Apple Watch app allows customers to have an easy, quick and secure access to view their account information and nearest ATM/branch location on their Apple Watch. The features are available on the OCBC Mobile Banking application for iPhone users who have a paired Apple Watch.

Aditya Gupta, OCBC Bank’s Singapore Head of E-Business, said at the time of the app launch: “We are constantly exploring advances in technology to help us make day-to-day banking more simple, accessible and meaningful for our customers. Smartwatches represent the next generation of personal mobile devices, and our Apple Watch app will offer the convenience, security and choice that customers demand when it comes to everyday banking on-the-go. This continuous innovation is what reinforces OCBC’s position as a forward-thinking bank and sets us apart when it comes to delivering the future of banking. We are confident the Apple Watch app will be a big hit with our fast-growing number of customers who are mobile and digitally-savvy.”

According to Apple, Apple Pay is a form of payment that makes uses of mobile devices as well as credit cards. The card details are not shared when Apple Pay is used, and are not stored on the device, so Apple calls it "the safer and more private way to pay". 

Credit cards have their card numbers and owners' identities visible, and swiping a card means exchanging information, Apple notes. Apple Pay creates a unique number for the credit card that is stored in encrypted form on the mobile device, which can be an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. During a purchase, the unique number is used in processing the payment. Since every iPhone and iPad payment requires a Touch ID (fingerprinting) or a passcode, while the Apple Watch must first be unlocked, the payments are more secure, Apple says.

Even if the iPhone or iPad is ever lost or stolen, Apple notes that the user can simply use the Find My iPhone feature to announce that the device is lost. Apple Pay is suspended for a device in Lost Mode, or the device can be wiped clean instead. The iCloud service, accessible through any Internet-connected device, can also be used to stop the ability to make payments from credit cards on an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch.

Source: Apple website. Retailers which will support Apple Pay include 7-Eleven, BreadTalk, Giant, and Sheng Siong.

Interested?

According to UOB, Apple Pay is supported on the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus. iPhone SE or Apple Watch, and can be used to pay within apps on iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus. iPhone SE or iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4 and iPad 3.

Merchants which want to offer Apple Pay can find out more About Apple Pay for merchants

Download or update the OCBC Mobile Banking application from the App Store. To get started, customers need to perform a one-time activation on their OCBC iPhone mobile banking app. Once the Apple Watch app is activated, account information and recent transactions can be viewed on Apple Watch, without the need to login to mobile banking. This service is available for customers using mobile devices such as iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S or iPhone 6S Plus operating on iOS 9 and Apple Watch devices running on WatchOS2, on a single pair of Apple Watch and iPhone devices at one time. No information is stored on the phone or watch and, for increased security, customers can choose to set a passcode on their Apple Watch.

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog posts on how Singtel allows subscribers to pay with a mobile phone and for the UOB YOLO card, which allows card holders to pay with their Android phones

Read the TechTrade Asia blog posts on Adyen's support for merchants which want to offer Apple Pay and on the 2014 launch which announced Apple Pay