Apple Pay is expanding its global reach to Russia.
The mobile wallet will initially be available to clients of Sberbank and Mastercard, according to an Oct. 4 news release from Sberbank, which did not indicate if or when it might extend that access to other credit card operators and financial institutions.
“Apple Pay is driving the popularization of contactless payments in Russia and globally,” Alexander Torbakhov, deputy chairman of the executive board of Sberbank, said in the release. “Many of Sberbank clients actively use new technologies, and an increasing number of them will prefer cash-free and contactless payment using their smartphones.”
Russia is the tenth country to launch Apple Pay support. It launched in the U.S. in 2014 and has since expanded to Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland and the U.K.
