Update 3: PKO BP in Poland is also testing Apple Pay currently, we’ve learned. Sounds like a big expansion is in the works.
Update 2: The post has been further updated to report the names of three retail chains said to be launch partners in the region: Pressbyrån, 7-11 and Elgiganten.
Update: MacPro has updated its story to say that the service is launching in Finland and Denmark too, with ‘several key retail partners lined-up.’
A report by the Swedish site MacPro claims that Apple Pay will be launching in Sweden next week.
It says that Nordea will be the first Swedish bank to support the payment method, and that a joint announcement will be made on October 24 …
There’s no source or additional information provided in the brief report, but the site says that it has heard consistent reports of the launch.
The report comes a day after Apple SVP Eddy Cue promised that Apple Pay would be coming to India, though the company didn’t give any date.
Nordea is a large bank formed as a result of a series of mergers and acquisitions across Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. It has more than 11 million customers across the Nordic and Baltic regions.
Sweden is one of the most advanced countries in terms of mobile payments. A Statista survey showed that more than three-quarters of the population used mobile payment apps last year.
Sweden has also been described as one of the most cash-free countries in the world. Only 20% of transactions involve cash, and more than half the bank branches in the country do not handle cash or accept cash payments into accounts.
