Android Pay has arrived in Canada, with several of the country's biggest banks making the mobile payments service available to Mastercard and Visa credit cardholders as well as Interac debit card users.
A host of FS firms, including three of Canada's big five - BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank - will begin rolling out support for Visa and Mastercard cards in the next few days. TD Bank and RBC are not on the list. Support for Interac debit cards will arrive next week, with American Express and Tangerine following in the summer.
All of the big banks have already signed up to Apple Pay, although CIBC is the only one to have so far also added support for Samsung Pay.
The move means that customer will be able to link multiple cards to the Android Pay app and use their NFC-enabled devices to make contactless payments instore at hundreds of thousands of shops. It can also be used for in-app purchases.
Mark O'Connell, CEO, Interac, says: "As the payment landscape evolves, we strive to offer Canadians innovative and seamless payment experiences that are fast, secure and increasingly more digital. The launch of Android Pay in Canada will give Interac debit cardholders yet another way to pay using their own money."
Meanwhile, deals have also been struck with CTBC and First Bank for Visa and Mastercard credit cardholders in Taiwan. More banks and cards are set to follow soon.