It’s only been a few days since Apple Pay officially launched in the Philippines, but Filipinos have wasted no time putting it to work.

Videos abound on social media of users tapping their iPhones and Apple Watches at payment terminals, paying for their fastfood cravings and even train fares with a flick of the wrist.

“The excitement is there because people are trying to register their cards onto Apple Pay,” Mastercard Philippines country manager Jason Crasto told Rappler in an exclusive interview. “Our issuing partners have been telling us that the number of registrations has been very, very positive.” 

For Crasto, the early rush shows that Filipinos are more than ready to go digital.

“It does show that Filipinos, when given the option to make a digital payment will choose that option to make a digital payment and use their mobile devices as the most trusted and preferred way to pay.”

And all that excitement is happening while Apple Pay’s Philippine club remains remarkably exclusive.

Apple currently lists only Chinabank, GoTyme Bank, Metrobank, and UnionBank as participating institutions. Mastercard’s side of the rollout covers three of them: Chinabank, Metrobank, and UnionBank. GoTyme’s eligible cards run on Visa.

Even then, not every card issued by those banks automatically qualifies. Customers still have to check whether their specific credit or debit card is supported.

That leaves out some of the country’s biggest card players. BDO, the market leader with 3.9 million cards in force, is not yet supported. BPI, the runner-up with 3 million cards in circulation, is not supported. RCBC — with 1.49 million cards in force and the country’s fourth largest card portfolio — is also not yet on Apple Pay.

But that might change very soon.

Crasto told Rappler that “most of the other banks” in the country are expected to join Apple Pay toward the fourth quarter and by the end of 2026.

“This list will expand, and by the end of this year, you will have most of the other banks in the Philippines that will go live,” Crasto told Rappler. Asked whether the wave would arrive toward the fourth quarter, he said: “Towards Q4. You’ll see a lot of the other banks come on board.”

Apple Pay allows users to store an eligible bank card digitally and charge purchases directly to that card.

Users open the Wallet app on a compatible iPhone, tap the plus sign, and add their card by holding it near the phone or entering its details manually. The bank may require another verification step. The user also needs an Apple Account and Face ID, Touch ID, or a device passcode. No separate Apple Pay app is required.

At checkout, users double-click the side button on an iPhone or Apple Watch, authenticate if prompted, then hold the device near a contactless terminal. Apple Pay also works on participating apps and websites, while cardholders continue earning their usual points, miles, and rewards.

Apple says card numbers are neither shared with merchants nor stored on its servers.

The next tap: LRT1

The next big showcase could be Manila’s train turnstiles.

Crasto said Mastercard and its partners are working with financial institutions and the Department of Transportation on contactless payments for the LRT1, which could soon allow passengers to tap a bank card or payment-enabled device and walk through instead of buying a single-journey ticker or loading a Beep card.

Crasto did not give a launch date, but he teased that an announcement may be close.

“You should hear some news about it in the weeks to come,” he said.

No turf war with QR

As for the rapidly spreading QR payment ecosystem, Mastercard is refusing to treat it as a card killer or a threat to their card business (WATCH: No more InstaPay transfer fees? Here’s what changed.).

“Not at all,” Crasto told Rappler when asked whether QR posed a threat. “I think it’s complementary.”

“We welcome more participants and more form factors for digital payments because it just means that there is less cash in the economy. So, QR payments, card payments are all solving for what our regulator wants us to solve for, which is minimizing cash and increasing digital penetration in the country,” he added.

In other words, Mastercard does not particularly care which digital door Filipinos use first, as long as they finally walk out of cash. In the BSP’s latest full-year measurement, digital payments already accounted for 57.4% of retail transactions by volume and 59% by value in 2024. – Rappler.com