Apple is reportedly readying a Canadian launch of its new Apple Pay mobile payments service sometime in early 2015.
Sources say partners are currently in negotiations with Apple regarding the launch scheduled to come sometime in the first half of this year. Apple and Canadian launch partners are in the process of planning advertising and other promotional material for March, which indicates that the launch could come as soon as then.
As always, the talks could break down and delay the Canadian debut of the payments service, however Apple is said to be targeting that timeframe.
Apple Pay hit the ground running in the U.S. back in October, as it quickly grabbed 1% of all digital payment dollars in the month of November. The company has also steadily added financial institutions and card issuers, now supporting approximately 90% of U.S. credit cards by volume.
Apple has been looking at expanding Apple Pay internationally, with reports recently pointing to the UK as a market Apple will soon enter.
Apple Pay relies on Near Field Communication technology, so it is already compatible with global systems that use the technology. However, internationally, it is only operational if a user’s device is set up to use American credit cards.
