Apple Pay In Europe

I'd say it depends on the country. I'm an Android person and don't normally use a pay app. In Scandinavia, people almost always used either a card or app to pay - cash was unusual. Every store was equipped to take electronic payments. In Spain and Italy, cash was common and fewer places were capable of accepting electronic payments . France was amenable to cards/apps but cash wasn't unusual either. If I had to guess at a general rule, I'd say the further south you go, the more likely you are to want cash.

It varies by country. In some countries like the UK, Scandinavian, and Holland RFID (Apple/Android Pay and tap cards) is in widespread use and can be used at 95% of merchants big and small. Even merchants at street markets have the ability to do contactless payment. Other countries are still gaining traction with it. But it's use is growing exponentially, within five years it will have near 100% acceptance in the developed world, using RFID will be second nature.

One strange thing about using it Apple Pay in Holland last summer was that even though most all merchants accepted it, the locals don't have access to it as the Dutch banks and Apple can't come to an agreement about fees. So when I held by phone up to the card machines and it accepted the phone payment it would freak a lot of employees who has never seen such a thing:)

Over 90 percent of my purchases in the UK are by Apple Pay. Many of the rest are contactless card, and a very few require the actual chip and pin. I carry a few Pounds in my wallet just in case but very rarely take them out - or even my wallet for that matter. John Lewis department store, like many places, has a very high limit on Apple Pay. I've in the past couple of years used Apple Pay in a John Lewis to buy a very large TV, laptops, iPads, and a new iPhone and new Android - just a tap of phone and wander down to Customer Collections.

Buying fuel for the car if I go inside some supermarkets limit the Apple Pay to less than £30 so it is insert the card with them, others it is just a swipe of the fone. Pay At The Pump is always insert the chip & pin.

My experience is that a high number of places wherever I have been in France recently are contactless is quite common, and Apple Pay is accepted most places that contactless is. I haven't run up against a contactless limit there but most purchases I make in France are fairly small, and it is always chip & PIN at the fuel pumps. I haven't paid in the shop for fuel for several years.

I don't remember ever having an opportunity to use contactless in Netherlands or Belgium.

I am continually surprised by how few places of any size or sort in Germany accept contactless and I don't think I have ever been able to use Apple Pay. I'll be back there in a couple of weeks so I'll see if it has changed. I always keep plenty of cash handy in Germany - I find it easier than cards except at Media Markt (I'm astonished that they not only don't take contactless but I've never spoken to anybody in one who had heard of contactless), hotels, and biergartens. Interestingly I don't use cash on German transportation. Every verkehrsverbund (regional transportation authority) and DB and private rail companies all have excellent apps which after linking a card issue pretty much anything you need for transportation on your phone, either a QR code or within the app. No cash needed, and no ticket machines either.

Luxembourg is half and half, not much Apple Pay - although knowing them I am sure it is just around the corner if not already there - but plenty of contactless.

Italy likes cash, but I've never had any problems with cards for larger purchases. I wouldn't take my phone out in Venice to try to top up my resident travel pass (it has never taken up swimming and I don't want it to start) and I can't remember if I inserted the chip & PIN in the ticket machine or tapped it. Sorry I'm not more help there. I've always used cash in Rome.

Have I left anywhere out?

I don't have ApplePay, but I have several debit cards with RFID chip (all Visa paywave) and try to use GooglePay (NFC) as much as I can (when I remember).

Russia (2018) - pretty much everywhere in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, and Kazan, including metro terminals, very small restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations, virtually every single grocery store, and even a paid bathroom (!) in the town of Vyborg (!!) The rule of thumb was that if there is a paywave logo, it almost always automatically means that they also accept Google/apple/Samsung pay.

Barn,

I expect the answer depends on a variety of factors, as different countries, banks and merchants may or may not accept that type of payment. It may also depend on whether the payment method selected in the phone is using a credit card for the purchase rather than a debit card.

I did an informal survey in several countries on a trip in 2016 and at that time, many of the merchants and hotels had never even heard of Applepay or tap-based transactions. Based on some of the comments from Nigel and others in this thread, I suspect the situation has improved greatly since then but is probably not universal throughout Europe.

I've never tried to use Applepay in Europe and rarely use it at home, although that may change in the near future. I use a credit union debit card for the majority of my purchases at home, most often the "tap" function for purchases less than $100. The credit union is working now to implement Applepay and it's expected to be up and running sometime this spring, so I'll probably be using that quite frequently.

I'd suggest having a variety of payment options available during your trip, and that way you should be able to adapt to whatever payment methods you find.

dependent on the card I connect to Apple Pay.

completely.

No extra charge to Apple that I pay.

what risk?

In order to make a payment with Apple Pay the phone has to have a fingerprint (dunno if the newest ones use the facial recognition for that) at the time of payment, and it doesn't use the actual card information but a token. Seems pretty secure to me, and I never get out my wallet or card, and I usually have my phone pretty close to hand so I can use Wunderlist or Stocard and such.

Is there some benefit? The risk seems quite high.

The transaction is quicker. You just hold your phone up to the reader and that's that. No fumbling with wallets, pin codes, or signatures.

What risk? It's all encrypted, and even if a bad guy somehow manages to crack the code, it's the bank's problem not mine.

I don't worry about the risk, but I share The other Bob's scepticism/confusion.
Even though Apple Pay may be accepted, I don't see it being used that often - if ever. If you ask, I think many people working in stores won't know that they take Apple Pay. Taking my card out of my pocket is just as easy as taking my phone out. That, and because I already have 2 apps for payment (MobilePay and Dankort - both Danish apps, and I rarely use them), I don't see a reason to ever switch to Apple Pay. When I think about it, I don't know a single person who uses Apple Pay.

Even around where I live in the US, Apple Pay acceptance is spotty. I can look out my office window and see at least 12 stores, some large nation wide chains some small mom & pop types, where I can pay with a credit card, but not with Apple Pay or a contactless option. So it just depends. But yes, Apple Pay is available in most European countries and if you find a merchant that is set up for it works just as well as it does anywhere else.

I will only say that when it comes to privacy and security questions, I trust Apple far more than Google and many others.

The transaction is quicker.

So it saves a few seconds.

I trust Apple far more than Google and many others.

I trust none of them, although I can't always avoid using them.

I don't care if other folk use it or not - whatever floats your boatie.

I'm not trying to convert anybody to my religion - just saying what works very well for me.

I forgot one other zippy feature. I don't need a wodge of paper receipts because the transaction shows up within seconds in the electronic Apple Wallet. Very convenient, sorted by account, and so easy to find - and always in date order.

I guess I am not as blissfully trusting as some when it comes to firms
such as Apple safeguarding my data

The tech companies are collecting data about your activities, whether you use the payment apps or not. Just walking around with a smartphone in your pocket in standby mode the phone and it's app are monitoring your activities, and collecting and selling data about you. If it's a concern the only way around it is turn your phone completely off, leave it at home, or become a Mennonite.

The transaction is quicker.

So it saves a few seconds.

Look at it from the merchants point of view. When you add up all those seconds throughout the course of the day (phone & contactless cards) it saves labor costs. Less cashiers are needed, and they can do more transactions per hour.

Even around where I live in the US, Apple Pay acceptance is spotty.

Here in the northeast of the USA it's in widespread use. I play the points game and use plastic whenever possible. 90% of my day to day purchases are done with my phone. From groceries to gas to restaurants and even the copay at the doctors office. It's gotten to the point where it's odd for a merchant not to accept Apple/Android Pay.
...and I don't even live in a big city. I'm in rural farm country, so there are lots of seasonal roadside farm stands selling their harvest during the warm weather months, even they now accept RFID payments. Thursday is pizza night at my household. Tonight when I drive to the small family owned pizzeria to pick up my pies it will be done with Apple Pay.

The transaction is quicker.

So it saves a few seconds

It saves about 10 to 20 seconds on average, more if you have to enter your PIN or skip several prompts (...credit or debit? Would you like to donate? Would you like cash back?)
Not much, but then imagine a rush-hour line of 15 people waiting to get their metro passes from a cashier on a random Monday morning. If everyone used chip and pin, you're looking at a line that's three minutes longer - you're missing three metro trains. No wonder people behind you will usually show signs of disapproval if you start fumbling with a chip and pin card.

Pay Pal is an entirely different payment system for an entirely different purpose. It actually goes way out of the way to not be a credit card or a bank account so as to not fall under any of the rules and regulations protecting users. I will never use it as it doesn't provide anything of benefit to me in my normal daily shopping.

Apple Pay is about as secure as any credit card transaction can ever be. First, Apple never sees your credit card number. They get what is called a token from your card issuer. Only your card issuer knows what card that token belongs to. It is only valid for transactions from that phone. Second, you are still covered by all the protections that using a standard credit card gives you. You are covered in case of fraudulent transactions if your phone is stolen so you lose nothing.

Use it or not. Your choice. I use Apple Pay when I see it is offered and it feels convenient to me. Otherwise I use a physical credit card. I don't really see any real difference in speed. I still get billed for the right amount.