Michal Marek At WWDC, Apple announced that contactless Apple Pay is coming except Switzerland in the near future also to France. Now it's actually happening and the service is officially launched here. To date, people can pay via Apple Pay in 8 countries of the world, which in addition to France and Switzerland are also the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, China and Singapore.
In France, Apple Pay is supported by both major card issuers, Visa and MasterCard. The first banks and banking institutions to adopt the service are Banque Populaire, Carrefour Banque, Ticket Restaurant and Caisse d'Epargne. In addition, Apple promises that support from other major institutions, Orange and Boon, is coming very soon.
In connection with Apple Pay in France, information previously surfaced that the negotiations between the Cupertino technology company and French banks are tied to debates about the amount of Apple's share of the payments made. French banks are said to have tried to negotiate, following the example of Chinese banks, so that Apple would only take a half share compared to its normal practice. After some time, the negotiations came to a successful end, but it is not clear what Apple agreed with the banks.
Apple by all accounts is working quite hard to expand the service. According to the company, the service should also arrive in Hong Kong and Spain this year. It is also expected to establish cooperation with a larger number of banks in countries where the service already operates.
Apple should not take a %, but a certain amount from each payment.. for example 1 CZK. That would seem fair to me. If it was more, I would rather pay by card.