Ulster Bank introduces Apple Pay for business customers

Ulster Bank has introduced Apple Pay to its business customers, integrating it across its Mastercard commercial cards, and Visa Debit cards.

The system will offer business customers a more secure option for contactless payments, replacing cash and eliminating the need for users to touch the card terminal.

Ulster Bank’s decision to extend Apple Pay to business customers comes more than three years after the bank first adopted the technology for personal customers.

Introduced by Apple in 2014 and launched in Ireland in 2017, Apple Pay uses multiple layers of security to ensure payment details are kept private. Debit and credit cards are added to Apple's Wallet, although no number is stored on the device itself, nor does Apple have access to it.

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Instead, an encrypted account number is stored on the secure chip on the phone or watch, which cannot be decrypted by Apple or its software, nor is it stored on Apple Pay servers or iCloud. Payments are authenticated by the user using Face ID, Touch ID, or the device passcode.

“We are delighted to extend Apple Pay to our business customers for their commercial cards.

"As one of the first banks in Ireland to offer this technology to our personal customers, this was a natural extension and helps our business customers make safe, fast payments with minimal effort," said Eddie Cullen, Ulster Bank's managing director of commercial banking.

“We champion potential, and as the country recovers, supporting our business customers is our priority. Apple Pay will help our customers throughout the country, by providing even more payment options as they continue to build and grow their businesses.”

Customers can use Apple Pay on iPhone, iPad and Mac to make purchases in apps or on the web in Safari.