Apple Pay has finally launched in Mexico, more than six years after Apple's mobile payments service first went live in the United States. It is available to customers of Citibanamex and Banorte, two of the largest banks in the country. Cards supported include Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.
It is supported in a number of stores in Mexico, including Domino's, 7-Eleven, Domino's, P. F. Chang's, and others. More will continue to be added.
The 61st Country to Add Apple Pay
Mexico is the 61st country to add support for Apple Pay. The news that it would be arriving in Mexico was first teased back in October, when Apple updated its Apple Mexico webpage to include details about Apple Pay. The page read, in translation: "Apple Pay works with the credit and debit cards of the most important payment networks, issued by various national banks. [Apple Pay is] the most effective way to pay without cash."
It's not clear why customers in Mexico had to wait quite so long to get Apple Pay. In some countries, adoption has taken a while as a result of negotiations with local banks and financial institutions. This has sometimes been based on clashes over the financial cut Apple takes for transactions.
Apple has, slowly but surely, been rolling out its mobile payments service around the world since it Apple Pay launched in late 2014. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the rollout stalled somewhat during 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic made its presence felt around the world. Last year, Apple added just two new markets---Montenegro and Serbia---to the ones offering Apple Pay. That compared to 24 new markets the previous year, 2019.
Mexico is the first new country to add Apple Pay support in 2021. This marks the second country in Latin America to offer Apple Pay support. The first was Brazil, which began supporting Apple Pay in April 2018.
Apple's Push Into Financial Services
Apple Pay makes it easy to pay for items in shops using contactless payments via an iPhone or Apple Watch. It can also be used in a growing number of locations for paying for public transport, as well as offering a more seamless way to pay for items online or through apps. Along with Apple Card, Apple Pay marked Apple's first move into the world of financial services.
Apple continues to add new financial features and services. In iOS 14.5, currently in beta, it adds a new Apple Card Family feature that supports multiple user accounts.