Barclays had been the biggest UK lender not to support the facility. The bank offers rival facilities of its own - including bPay and Pingit - but had faced pressure from some customers to support Apple's effort. However, Barclays said it had no plans to join Android Pay or Samsung Pay when they come to the UK later this year. "We are passionate about helping customers access services and carry out their day-to-day transactions in the way that suits them," said Barclays UK's chief executive Ashok Vaswani.
"Adding to the existing choice, from today both Barclays debit and Barclaycard credit card customers can use Apple Pay to make payments with their Apple device across the UK."
Slow start?
Apple Pay allows debit and credit card details to be added to an iPhone, iPad and/or Apple Watch. The devices can subsequently stand in for the physical cards at contactless payment terminals. In addition, it can be used as a way to pay for goods within compatible apps without a user having to type in the linked card's three or four-digit security code. Apple has yet to disclose any data about how widely the service has been used since it was launched in the UK in July 2015.
"But Apple Pay - and Android Pay - are already in a strong position given the amount of support they are getting." Apple's recent introduction of the iPhone SE could also help. It is the US firm's first entry-level handset to feature a fingerprint sensor, allowing the smartphone to support Apple Pay. Several of the smaller UK lenders that do not yet support the service have also indicated their desire to join.
Writer - Liam McClelland | @Liamicy