Apple Pay Enters Philippines With 5,000 More Online Merchants Planned

Q: With Apple Pay silently rolling out in the Philippines, which major local banks are still missing from the roster?

The notable absences so far are the Philippines’ biggest consumer banks: BDO Unibank, BPI, Land Bank of the Philippines, Security Bank, RCBC, EastWest, and PNB. As of the early rollout reports, the banks appearing to work with Apple Pay are UnionBank, GoTyme, Metrobank, and Chinabank. Among the missing names, BDO and BPI stand out most because of their scale. BPI is especially notable because it has previously said it had already tokenized its cards and updated its terms to support wallets such as Apple Pay, suggesting technical readiness even if live support was not yet visible in this initial rollout. BDO, meanwhile, has not appeared in the early user reports despite its dominant card base. Other mainstream issuers that also have not surfaced in the reported roster include Security Bank, RCBC, EastWest, PNB, LandBank, and likely Maya Bank and GCash-linked card products, which would be important additions if Apple Pay broadens beyond the first wave. Because Apple has not yet published a full official Philippines issuer list, the picture remains fluid. Some of these banks may join quickly, and some cards from already supported banks may still be in phased activation. For now, though, the headline is that several of the country’s largest card issuers are still missing from the live, user-confirmed lineup.

3 articles · Updated · Gulf News · Aug 4

Apple Pay officially went live in the Philippines, letting users pay by iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac at thousands of stores, apps and websites.
Four banks — Chinabank, GoTyme Bank, Metrobank and UnionBank — support eligible cards at launch, and some also offer instant virtual cards that can be added for immediate use.
Maya Business said it will start enabling Apple Pay for more than 5,000 online merchants, while retailers including Jollibee, Ayala Malls, Rustan's and Shopee already accept the service.
Apple said card numbers are not stored on devices or its servers; instead, payments use a unique Device Account Number in the Secure Element, and lost devices can be locked remotely.
The rollout gives Apple a foothold in one of Southeast Asia's faster-growing digital payments markets and extends Apple Pay's reach to more than 90 countries and regions.