Apple Pay now available to Visa cardholders in KSA

Visa has made Apple Pay available to its cardholders in Saudi Arabia. Apple Pay allows prepaid, debit and credit cardholders to make easy, quick and secure purchases using their iPhone and Apple Watch in stores that accept contactless payments. Visa cardholders can also make payments with Apple Pay in-app or on the web.

Apple Pay will allow Visa cardholders across the Kingdom to make payments using their Apple devices while ensuring that their financial details are private and secure. Security and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay. When a credit or debit card is used with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on the user’s device. Each transaction is authorised with a one-time unique dynamic security code.

“Mobile payments are becoming an ever-present part of consumers’ lives. In today’s world, people expect speed and convenience without security being compromised — an approach that Visa embodies,” says Ali Bailoun, Visa’s general manager for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “As a country filled with tech-savvy, mobile-first consumers, we are delighted to work with Saudi Payments and our bank partners to help bring Apple Pay to Visa cardholders here, making their payments experience easier, faster and more secure than ever before. This launch also aligns with one of the goals of Vision 2030 of creating a cashless society, and we enthusiastically welcome Apple Pay to the market and are excited to help Saudi Arabia usher in this new era of payments.”

According to “Contactless & ‘the Pays’: the catalyst for digital payments growth,” research by Visa Consulting and Analytics, millennials account for 40% of the Kingdom’s population, with smartphone penetration levels reaching nearly 74% overall. There is a desire to try new solutions, with 80% of respondents stating that they have performed a contactless transaction and were open to do so again.