ByZEV STUB
Apple Pay, Apple’s mobile payment and digital wallet service, is expected to launch in Israel next week. Sources say the app, which has nearly 400 million users around the world, will begin working on May 5.
The long-anticipated launch is expected to represent a tipping point for mobile payment solutions in Israel. In February, Bank Hapoalim launched its own digital wallet app, followed by Bank Leumi and others. Those apps are currently available only on Android phones, so the introduction of Apple Pay will provide a new service for the estimated 30% of the market using iPhones.

Supermarket chain Rami Levy also recently launched its own digital wallet, designed to make shopping faster and easier throughout its stores and online sites. Meanwhile, global payment leaders like Google Pay and Samsung Pay may also open in Israel later in the year.

Digital wallets are designed to make digital payments easier than credit card transactions. Israelis have had apps like Bit, Pepper and Paybox that allow them to transfer money between friends for several years, but the new wave of digital wallets is expected to change the way Israelis make commercial payments.

The Bank of Israel has been working to prepare the groundwork for more advanced payment technology.

In November, Israeli credit card processors upgraded to the EMV standard, which enables noncontact transactions and transactions by cellphones and smart watches.