The new additions aren’t necessarily major, but they do help to fill in Apple Pay coverage gaps across certain regions of the US. As Apple continues to add supported participating banks and credit unions, those gaps are becoming increasingly small and uncommon. The full list of additional supported financial institutions includes: Community National Bank & Trust of Texas; First State Bank of Mendota; First State Bank Southwest; Great Plains Bank; Great Southern Bank; Holyoke Credit Union; Icon Credit Union; Mascoma Savings Bank; Macintosh County Bank; Park National Bank; Texas Brand Bank; Xplore Federal Credit Union.
Apple already supports hundreds of banks and credit unions across the US and the world, despite some regulatory hiccups in its international expansion. Today’s additions are fairly regional, but major national institutions such as Bank of America and Chase have already participated in Apple Pay since its first year of availability. The system was debuted in October 2014 and is now accepted at dozens of major retailers in the US. The system is also the fifth-most popular payment platform on top websites.
Apple Pay itself is slated for a relatively major update in the next-generation iOS 11. Dubbed Apple Pay Cash, the new platform adds a few new features to Apple’s proprietary platform. For one, it adds a holding account system akin to PayPal and a separate Apple Pay Cash card within the Wallet app. It also adds peer-to-peer money transfers for the first time. The peer-to-peer payment system will work via Messages, and will feature deep integration with Siri. At launch, Apple Pay Cash will be limited to the US.
iOS 11, and Apple Pay Cash, is expected to rollout to the general public after Apple’s Sept. 12 announcement event, where it is expected to unveil the highly anticipated, premium OLED iPhone and several other devices.
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