Vipps MobilePay launched a mobile wallet payment solution for iPhone, now available for customers in Norway.
VippsMobilePay has introduced the world’s first alternative to Apple Pay on iPhones, which enables NFC payments via the Vipps MobilePay app on iPhones without relying on Apple Pay.
Called Tap with Vipps, the new contactless payment solution will work on all card terminals that accept BankAxept cards – that is, on almost all card terminals in Norway. The service will also roll out for Visa and Mastercard cards within a few months.
The new capability is enabled by the agreement between the EU and Apple, which was finalised this July. It ensures that other mobile wallet services may gain access to the iPhone instead of being limited solely to the embedded Apple Pay alternative.
Apple also faced other changes to its previous policies in the EU. Thus, app developers present on Apple’s App Store are now able to communicate and promote their products anywhere, not just on their own website, but directly from App Store virtual environment. Furthermore, European users get the opportunity to download apps for the company’s smartphones from digital platforms that do not belong to Apple, with access to alternative payment methods for online transactions.
Now, consumers in Norway can also choose which payment solution they want to use on iPhone for their offline contactless transactions. Today, it is available to the customers of SpareBank 1, DNB, and over 40 other local banks. The feature is expected to launch on Android phones soon, as well as expand to Denmark, Finland and Sweden next year.
On both mobile operation systems, it will be possible to set Vipps as the default payment app. In that case, you don’t have to separately open the Vipps app to pay. On iPhone, users will need to double-click the side button, and on Android, they just unlock their phones to initialise the payment.
“We believe that Vipps users find it advantageous to only have to deal with one payment app and finally have the opportunity to use Vipps in situations where they would normally use their plastic card. After Apple opened up, it has been important for us to launch as quickly as possible, to meet tough competition. However, we will continuously add more simplifications, international cards, and more banks.”
Rune Garborg, CEO of Vipps MobilePay
