Russia Says Hello To Apple Pay

Apple’s mobile payment service has now reached Russia.

Reuters reported on Tuesday (Oct. 4) that Russia is now the 10th country where Apple Pay is available, following launches in the U.S., Canada, Singapore, the U.K. and others.

In Russia, Apple Pay will initially operate with partners Sberbank and Mastercard.

Apple’s decision to launch Apple Pay in Russia comes at a time when the country’s mobile payments market grew by almost 40 percent in 2015, to 70.4 billion rubles ($1.1 billion).

But according to data from AC&M Consulting, this is still just a small portion of the 650 billion ruble ($10.1 billion) eCommerce market last year.

Only 20 percent of smartphones connected to Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) used NFC technology at the end of 2015, according to Russian newspaper Vedomosti. However, an MTS representative, Dmitry Solodovnikov, predicts that percentage to increase by over 30 percent next year, with contactless transactions amounting to $770 million.

Not only is Apple Pay expanding geographically, but the payment method also made its web debut last month.

The launch is not for the whole web — PayPal won’t be racing with Apple in Chrome or Internet Explorer, since only the Safari browser can pay online via a “Pay with Apple Pay” button. Apple Pay on the Web also remains Apple device-dependent; bioauthentication must be done using Touch ID on a phone or watch.

Though the move will allow Apple Pay to reach those customers who don’t like shopping using a mobile phone or who prefer to shop via the web, the downside is that shoppers must have a Mac, an iPhone and the Safari browser.