Apple Pay is already working abroad with US-based credit cards
Apple Pay is only available to U.S. residents. That doesn’t mean that Cupertino’s new mobile payment service won’t work elsewhere, according to 9to5Mac.
According to the report, Apple Pay loaded with a U.S.-based credit card works at retailers in Australia.
Reader Beau Giles reports, “Apple Pay works anywhere there’s existing PayPass or payWave terminals – and in Australia we’ve got plenty of them…While Apple restricts cards to US issued cards, they do work with Apple Pay just fine elsewhere.”
Beau notes that Apple Pay appears to be based on the region set on a user’s device and is not necessarily tied to an iTunes account (although it does offer the option to use a card on file through an Apple ID). Users abroad can make Apple Pay settings appear by changing their region to United States in Settings>General>Language & Region>Region.
Apple Pay officially launched with iOS 8.1, which was released worldwide on Monday. Exclusively available in the U.S., Apple Pay is expected to arrive in other countries in the coming months
See also: Apple Pay to make professional sports debut at Major League Baseball’s 2014 World Series, An updated list of the merchants, cards and apps that accept Apple Pay, and Apple officially launches iOS 8.1, featuring Apple Pay, Continuity and more.