Despite Barclays initial hesitation to show support for Apple Pay, the bank finally gave in and has confirmed that it will roll out the platform in early 2016. (Photo : Mike Blake/Reuters)
Despite Barclays initial hesitation to show support for Apple Pay, the bank finally gave in and has confirmed that it will roll out the platform in early 2016.
According to Mac Rumors, Barclays was the only one missing from the so-called "Big Four" banks in the U.K. supporting Apple's mobile payment service when it was launched in July.
Since then, it was reported that a high-level executive from Barclays said that the bank will show support in Apple Pay in the future.
Engadget reported that an unhappy, frustrated customer named Mike Jobson emailed Ashok Vaswani, CEO of Barclays Retail Banking, directly asking how long it will take for the bank to roll out Apple Pay.
Vaswani replied that they are already signed up with Apple Pay and are about to launch it early next year. He added that he hopes Jobson continues to bank with Barclays as this platform will be rolled out "shortly."
The bank has been asked to comment about the said email and their canned reply remains the same. They said that they are excited to launch Apple Pay and will tie in Barclays debit cards and Barclays credit cards to the mobile payment program.
Customers have been quick to move their accounts to banks that support Apple Pay. The next few months could still be costly for Barclays despite this announcement.
Other participating banks that have integrated Apple Pay include Halifax, Bank of Scotland, HSBC, First Direct, Lloyds Bank, MBNA, NatWest, M&S Bank, Nationwide, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank, and Santander.
