Apple Pay is coming to France over the next few months, according to a new report from Les Echoes, but as with Apple’s recent efforts to roll out Apple Pay in other countries such as Australia and Canada, negotiations with the French banks are turning out to be a bit more challenging than expected, and the service may in fact roll out on a “bank-by-bank” basis. Apple is reportedly still in negotiations with “a small handful” of major French banks, with the sticking point being the usual matter of transaction fees.
Traditionally, these transaction fees in France are relatively small compared to other countries, representing as little as 0.2 percent of the transaction amount, whereas Apple is demanding a higher cut for Apple Pay transactions, similar to what Apple has negotiated with the banks in the U.K. — possibly as much as 5 cents per transaction.
The report notes that Apple’s position in the negotiations may have also been impacted due to its recent deal with Union Pay to launch Apple Pay in China, where the tech giant has reportedly made concessions, agreeing to take no per-transaction fees for the first two years and then only 0.07 percent after that. As a result, due to the difficulty in negotiations, Apple has reportedly abandoned any efforts to launch with multiple banks simultaneously, and will be engaging in discussions with individual banks who will implement Apple Pay at their own pace, and according to their own technical requirements.
