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Apple Pay available in Canada starting November 17

An Apple iphone 6 with Apple Pay is shown June 3, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake
An Apple iphone 6 with Apple Pay is shown June 3, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Apple Pay is finally here in Canada. iPhone users can start making mobile payment as of November 17.

The announcement was made surprisingly quietly, however, as the news came via American Express rather than Apple itself. Based on the experience of one writer, you wouldn’t have even known it was coming today unless you called American Express customer service to ask why your card wasn’t working.

Although this information isn’t exactly coming via a widespread press release, Apple CEO Tim Cook did say the device would be available in both Canada and Australia before the end of the year. And it does make complete sense that the company would want Apple Pay to be available to consumers as the biggest retail shopping days of the year approach.

“…the service is set to launch this Tuesday, November 17, 2015,” writes Gary Ng on iPhone in Canada. “Customer service representatives we spoke with confirmed the date over the phone numerous times, and it is in line with what you’ve told us as well.”

One of the interesting things about the launch in this country is that it’s coming by way of American Express. On Apple’s website, Apple Pay is only listed as being supported by American Express, leaving Visa and Mastercard in the dark in Canada, as well as the United States and U.K. where Apple Pay is also available.

Apple Pay is currently supported on the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6S. It is also available to iPhone 5 users who purchased an Apple Watch, and is compatible with iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3 and iPad mini 4. It’s already being used by many large retailers and brands in America including McDonald’s, Subway, Foot Locker, Disney, Starbucks and Uber.

In total, Apple says on its website, that there are over 1 million stores already accepting mobile payments through the service. Some retailers (like Uber) have also agreed to take things a step further and allow users to make purchases right inside of their apps using Apple Pay. In Uber’s case it means you can call for a taxi without having to fill in your personal information to set up an Uber account. According to a PR representative on behalf of American Express, Apple Pay will be accepted at merchants who already accept American Express contactless payment, including pharmacies like Jean Coutu, London Drugs and Rexall; gas stations like Shell; and quick-serve restaurants like McDonald's.

Whether you’re one of those people that still feels more comfortable pulling a credit card out of their pocket or you can’t wait for the day you don’t need your wallet anymore, Apple Pay is likely to spread quite fast because it’s easy to use, safe and private. It uses the same NFC radio technology that major credit cards have already been using for a few years now to accept contactless payments.


Read more:

Here are all the places that support Apple Pay, including 600+ banks and credit unions

Tim Cook says money will be forgotten by history, thanks to Apple Pay

Wallet wars: Apple looks set to enter crowded person-to-person payments market


If you’re worried about what happens if your phone is stolen fear not: your credit card data won’t be stored on your iPhone. Instead, the phone will assign you a unique identification number inside of a chip that keeps things totally secure. So if your phone is lost or stolen, nobody has your details and you can prevent somebody else from using your phone for purchases without having it in your hand. You can also make a payment using the fingerprint ID feature on the phone. As far as privacy goes, Apple Pay doesn’t store any information about your transactions, so nobody is digging into your customer data.

So there you have it. You’ll finally be able to buy things in this country without having to fumble with cards – as long as you’re currently using American Express, of course. Canadian banks and the other major credit card companies are still hesitating on adopting Apple Pay for now (which is part of the reason Apple Pay is launching anyway, so that key stakeholders see its value). What will be interesting to see for now is whether people would be willing to switch to American Express just so that they can use the mobile payment solution.

This story was updated Nov. 17, 9:48 a.m. ET.