Volksbanks bring Girocard to the iPhone – apart from Apple Pay

So far, for iPhone users and banks at Mobile Payment, there was no way around Apple Pay. That will change soon: The Volks- und Raiffeisen banks want to give customers the option in the current year to pay contactlessly in shops with the iPhone- outside of Apple’s central payment service. “The first Girocard transaction on the iPhone-without Apple Pay-was successfully carried out in our test systems,” as the Federal Association of German Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanken (BVR) now Maid LinkedIn.

With this step, the cooperative banks come closer to a “own, independent payment solution for Apple smartphones,” emphasized the BVR. From September 5, the VR banking app on iOS should offer the corresponding functionality, as the BVR explained when asked. This is already integrated on Android. “In the first step, however, only Girocard is integrated under iOS. We still evaluate debit and credit cards,” said a spokesman for the association to Mac & i. People’s and Raiffeisen banks are open to continue offering a virtual Mastercard for Apple Pay, according to the BvR.

VR banking app becomes iPhone wallet

From September, the VR banking app will also be set up as a new standard wallet on iPhones. The chosen standard wallet opens-like Apple Pay / Apple Wallet now-by approaching an NFC payment terminal or by twisting on the iPhone standby button.

The BVR’s interest in processing girocard payments on the iPhone itself is no surprise: the association announced that they would like to enable this in early 2024. In order to remove allegations of the distortion of competition and to avoid a punishment, Apple committed itself to the EU Commission to open the NFC interface of the iPhone last year. Under the digital markets Act, which is growing a short time later, the original Verdling of the iPhone NFC interface with Apple Pay is no longer permitted anyway.

Apple opens iPhone NFC on pressure in many regions

In the European Economic Area, Apple relies on “Host Card Emulation”, which is also used in Android. In other regions, Apple also opened the iPhone for other payment services last year, where payment services can also fall back on the “Secure Element” integrated in iPhone chips.

So far, this new freedom has only used a large Scandinavian mobile playment service. Apple’s payment service is now supported by practically all larger banks with credit and debit cards in Germany. The girocard (sometimes still mistakenly called “EC card”) in Apple Pay has remained a rarity and mainly found at Sparkassen and Commerzbank. Not every bank is completely happy with Apple Pay, then a commission flows to the US group with every transaction of customers. However, many a customer should also be not very happy when his bank suddenly exhausts Apple Pay.