Technology giant Apple is set to launch its mobile payment platform Apple Pay for cardholders in 16 additional countries in Eastern Europe, MacRumors has reported.
As per the plan, the mobile payments service will now be launched in Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
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The service was launched Poland and Norway in June last year.
Last year, Apple Pay was also launched in Kazakhstan, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, Austria, and Iceland.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was quoted by MacRumors as saying that Apple Pay will be available in more than 40 regions by the end of 2019.
Apple Pay, which was first launched in the US in October 2014, does not store the actual card numbers on the device or its server.
Instead, it allots a unique device account number that is stored on the device after encryption.
Transactions on Apple Pay are authenticated through a one-time unique dynamic security code.
For in-store purchases, the mobile payment platform is compatible with iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and later, and Apple Watch.
In February this year, Saudi Arabia’s national payment system mada launched Apple Pay in the kingdom, in association with Mastercard.
