Apple Pay expanding to Australia and Canada this year for American Express cards
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac :
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple's Canada entry has been telegraphed all year: reports in January pointed to a launch as soon as March, and by April the Wall Street Journal had Apple in talks with the country's six biggest banks, which hold more than 90% of retail accounts. Neither materialized on that schedule — instead American Express emerges as the launch issuer for both Canada and Australia.
The trend: Mobile wallets are expanding market-by-market through single-issuer beachheads first, with full bank participation following only after the platform has proven demand.