By using Apple Pay, cardholders in these countries will no longer have to hand over their card to another person, touch buttons, or exchange cash when making payments. Instead, they can leverage the technologies embedded in their iPhones and Apple Watches in order to ensure the security of each transaction.
In order to make a payment via Apple Pay, customers simply need to hold their iPhone or Apple Watch close to a terminal. Each Apple Pay transaction is authenticated via Face ID, Touch ID, or device passcode, and it includes a unique dynamic security code. Apple Pay is accepted at supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants, coffee shops, convenience stores, department stores, and other businesses where contactless payments are permitted.
Apple Pay uses several hardware and software features to ensure the security and reliability of purchases. Specifically, whenever a client uses a debit or credit card through Apple Pay, Apple does not store the actual card numbers on their servers or on the user’s device. Instead, a unique device account number is assigned, encrypted, and securely stored on the Secure Element, which is an industry-standard, certified chip running the Java Card platform, which is compliant with financial industry requirements for electronic payments.
The Secure Element IC and the Java Card platform are certified in accordance with the EMVCo Security Evaluation process.
To set up Apple Pay, users need to open their Wallet app on their iPhones and tap the + icon in order to add Mastercard credit or debit cards. Once the card has been added successfully the customer can use it for payments right away while retaining any rewards and benefits offered by Mastercard.
In Guatemala, Apple Pay will be available to Mastercard cardholders of BAC Credomatic, Banco Industrial, Banco Promerica and Banco G&T Continental debit or credit cards. In El Salvador, it will be available to Mastercard cardholders of debit or credit cards from BAC Credomatic, and Banco Promerica.
Mastercard’s extended support for mobile payments comes in the context of a recent announcement that reinforced the company’s commitment to eliminate first-use PVC plastics from its payment cards by 2028. The initiative represents a step forward for Mastercard to bring accessibility to a more sustainable card offering for customers, as a way to reduce and eliminate the environmental impact that their wallet currently has.
The aim of the program is to introduce all newly-Mastercard payment cards built from more sustainable materials by 1 January 2028 (including recycled or bio-sourced plastics, rPVC, rPET, and PLA), all approved through a certification program.
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