Apple Pay hints usually false alarm: only Apple knows when it comes

We regularly receive e-mails from iCulture readers regarding Apple Pay in the Netherlands and possible hints that it really is coming up. In most cases these 'hints' can be explained logically. Have you also discovered an Apple Pay Digital Technology  hint? First check this artic.

Apple Pay hints

For many years, the arrival of Apple Pay in the Netherlands has been the most requested function of Dutch Apple users. Countries around us, including Germany, France and Scandinavia, can already use Apple Pay or soon. In the Netherlands and Belgium we have to wait a little longer. 

Until that time there is nothing else but wait and see, even though we often get hints that it is really up to now. It has been shown from the past that these hints do not point out anything. In this article you will find the most common hints to a possible rollout of Apple Pay in the Netherlands .

Before the arrival of Apple Pay to a certain country, Apple works closely with banks and other agencies. Apple and the banks are the only ones who know if and when the payment service will become available in a country. They will therefore hold their lips together, until the moment that Apple makes the announcements themselves. Possible indications will therefore rarely or never come to light publicly via, for example, instruction screens on your iPhone, although the mention of bunq for Apple Pay in Italy is an exception.

# 1 Instructions during configuration
When you start a new iPhone , iPad or Apple Watch for the first time, you get all sorts of instructions to get you started using and setting up your Apple device. Apple Pay is also part of this screen. It is a general translated instruction screen that is shown in all countries, regardless of whether Apple Pay is available or not. We also see readers often pass the instructions to set up Apple Pay Cash , while that feature can only be used in the United States for the time being.

These options to set up the payment service also appear when adjusting your region settings. It is also possible that the option appears when you log in with an American Apple ID . You will then also see the Apple News and TV app, for example. The options for Apple Pay also appear in the settings, but disappear again when you return to the Dutch region.

# 2 Booklets and manuals

After the appearance of the latest devices such as the iPhone XS and Apple Watch Series 4we received tips about the mention of Apple Pay in the supplied booklets and manuals. This is also no hint that it is now coming quickly. Apple makes these booklets the same for every country, including translations. 

It is more work to make special versions for countries where Apple Pay is not available, in which the payment service is not mentioned. Moreover, the listing already prepares you for the future as soon as the Apple Pay is available here. Apple does not have to replace all the iPhone manuals with new ones again.

# 3 Everything in Dutch

That Apple has already translated the instructions for setting into Dutch does not mean anything. By far the most functions on your iPhone and iPad are always immediately translated by Apple. The Apple Pay instructions have even been translated since the introduction of Apple Pay in iOS . 

That also has a reason: a Dutchman who lives in America and prefers to use his iPhone in Dutch, simply gets the instructions and settings in his own language preference. The fact that this has been translated on your iPhone does not say anything about an early rollout of Apple Pay in the Netherlands .

# 4 Logo on iCloud.com
Once you log in to iCloud.com and enter a code for two-factor authentication , bottom buttons and logos appear for Find my iPhone , Apple Pay and the Apple Watch settings. Via these buttons you quickly reach the relevant settings in case you can not receive a two-factor authentication code, for example in case of theft. 

This page is the same for everyone and the logo for Apple Pay has been here for at least a number of years. The button is therefore primarily intended for people who have already set up the payment method, because they live in a country where Apple Pay is already active.

# 5 Buttons on Apple Watch

Since watchOS 5 , there are two extra buttons in the Messaging app for Dutch and Belgians when you want to send a (quick) reply. However, the Scribble button and Apple Pay button are gray and can not be used. Since watchOS 5 , Apple has changed something so that the buttons are visible to everyone, even if the functions do not work in your country. 

The fact that both the button for Apple Pay and Scribble are visible, immediately shows that it has nothing to do with Apple Pay in particular. Apple will deliberately make the buttons visible to everyone, although it may also be a mistake that may be solved in a future watchOS version.

# 6 Logos on packaging
The Apple Pay logo appears every now and then, for example on mobile PIN devices and packaging of similar accessories for the iPhone . 

These kinds of devices are often sold in several countries, making it inconvenient to remove that one logo especially for the Netherlands and Belgium. The same applies to commercials in which the logo passes, as was recently the case with Dutch advertising of a pin accessory for the iPhone.

These types of logos only indicate which services support a device. This is useful, for example, for shopkeepers who have a lot to do with tourists, so they can see that they can pay with Apple Pay. Moreover, such a box is immediately prepared for the arrival of Apple Pay in the Netherlands .

# 7 Webcare answers

If you ask your bank via Twitter if and when they will support Apple Pay, the answer you get is usually quite standard. 'We keep an eye on developments' is usually the core of the answer. 

Webcare will therefore never announce the arrival of the payment service early in response to an enthusiastic user, simply because the webcare department often has no idea what it is. In recent years, multiple approvals have taken place, for example with the Belgian bank KBC. 

Sometimes the bank turned out to be mistaken for Android Pay, while KBC backtracked in 2015 after a slightly too enthusiastic tweet. So do not immediately believe webcare departments until the bank and / or Apple itself has the Apple Pay availability officially announce.

# 8 And what about those translations on the Apple site?

In recent months, Apple has been busy translating the support pages around Apple Pay. Some time these were read in Dutch, but now the vast majority have already been turned back to English.

 Whether this is a hint to support for Apple Pay in the Netherlands is difficult to say. Chances are that Apple is only preparing to have the pages ready as soon as it's ready. It has been a year since the pages were first translated, but there is no trace of Apple Pay yet.

Who is it? Apple or the banks?

Now the big question is: why is Apple Pay not yet available in the Netherlands? Is it the banks or is it Apple that does not want it? The answer is difficult to find, but we can express our own suspicion. Shortly after the bunq update for Italy and Spain appeared, it was possible to use our FAQ on Apple Paybunq to use in the Netherlands. But shortly after it was possible to use Apple's payment service here, the option was removed again. 

It was most likely Apple to put a stop to this and wanted to prevent Apple Pay from being fully used by (Dutch) bunq users. Although bunq itself never wanted to give an answer, it is clear that it is not at least bunq. This suspicion is more strongly confirmed by the fact that bunq has since incorporated numerous extra steps to stop the activation (although it can be worked around if you google properly ...)

So the ball really seems to be mainly with Apple. What exactly stops Apple from bringing Apple Pay to the Netherlands is unfortunately unclear, but that applies to more Apple functions that do not work in the Netherlands . Apple Pay comes when Apple thinks the time is right and only Apple chooses the moment.

The next possibility: the next quarterly figures

But when is it then? Nobody knows that, except for Apple and the banks where they have made agreements with. We do not dare to say how long it will take. Apple always announces new countries during quarterly figures. The last time Apple did that was at the end of July. Apple then announced that Apple Pay is coming to Germany .

We will keep you informed of all developments, so keep an eye on iCulture. And do you think you have discovered something special or are you on the trail? You can always send us an e-mail with your discoveries, but be prepared for an empty hint. We at least join you!