Apple Pay launches in Ireland

Irish consumers can now use their iPhone to pay for goods and services in tens of thousands of retail outlets around the country where contactless payments are accepted.

.Irish users will now be able to pay for goods or services using their iPhone in what many see as the next step towards permanent and total cashless transactions. A number of well-known Irish brands have already signed up to the service and launch partners included supermarkets such as Supervalu, Dunnes Stores, Lidl, Aldi, Centra and Marks and Spencers. Other retails chains such as Insomnia, Boots and Harvey Norman also accept the payment system as do petrol stations such as Applegreen and Amber Oil.

Transactions using iPhones are validated by using a fingerprint or a pin code. It is available on iPhone 6 and later versions, iWatches and the newer iPads. Currently, KBC and Ulster Bank are the only banks signed up for the service. It is available on iPhone 6 and later versions, iWatches and the newer iPads. Currently, KBC and Ulster Bank are the only banks signed up for the service.

It is available on iPhone 6 and later versions, iWatches and the newer iPads. Currently, KBC and Ulster Bank are the only banks signed up for the service. Apple does not place any purchasing limits on the system, although banks and some retailers place their own limits. There will be no additional charge to using the phone as a payment method.

The contactless payment method went through two years of trialling in the US before its Irish launchThe service launches three months after Google’s rival Android Pay mobile payment service was released here.