Update 10/12/15: Arvest Debit, Credit and Spending Cards are now available in ApplePay™! Learn more at arvest.com/applepay.
You likely have heard the announcement from Apple about the availability of Apple Pay, allowing iPhone 6 users to make purchases at participating retailers directly from their phone. Apple worked only with six banks in advance to make Apple Pay available; all other banks were unable to begin the process to sign agreements and begin work until late September. Arvest is working with our processors and other teams on the technical integration to make Apple Pay available to our customers. Because we are working as quickly as possible, we are unable to provide a firm date. Our goal is to bring Apple Pay to you as soon as possible; we are dependent on some of our processing partners and it may not be available for a few months. For more information, please read our release below which announced our intent to participate.
LOWELL, Ark. — Arvest Bank has reached an agreement with Apple, Inc., which will make the Apple Pay mobile wallet system available to Arvest customers. Arvest is one of the first regional banks to announce its participation in the mobile payment system first introduced by Apple on Sept. 9.
Apple Pay allows customers to load credit and debit cards from participating banks into an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, then simply hold the device near a contactless reader. According to Apple, there are approximately 220,000 locations with contactless readers in the U.S. Partnering retailers include Subway, McDonalds, Petco, Walgreens, Staples and Whole Foods, among others. Customers also can use Apple Pay to make purchases online through online retailers with apps that integrate Apple Pay, such as Target, Starbucks, MLB.com and Open Table. Additional retailers are expected to begin accepting Apple Pay payments in the near future.
“Arvest Bank is excited to partner with Apple to offer this service to our customers,” said Jason Kincy, Director of Marketing for Arvest Bank. “We embrace mobile technology that provides added convenience for our customers, and Apple Pay will give them a quick, easy way to make everyday purchases using a mobile device. With this agreement in place, we are working on integrating this new payment method into our processing and we anticipate making it available to our customers in the near future.”
Large banks already partnered with Apple in Apple Pay were announced with the launch of the system. They include Bank of America, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, American Express and Capital One. The system is also partnered with card-issuers American Express, MasterCard and Visa.
Apple’s newly introduced iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have Near Field Communication (NFC) chips that allow the device to communicate with other devices within a range of about one inch. They are currently the only iPhones able to make in-store “tap and pay” purchases.
Once cards are uploaded into the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, Apple will verify the card with the customer’s bank for security and validity. A virtual “token” link between that card and that specific phone is stored in the Passbook app. The “token” number will not work on any other device or phone.