The National Association of German Cooperative Banks (BVR), an umbrella organisation representing a number of financial institutions in the country, apparently held talks with Apple to enable a launch of Apple Pay later this year.

Apple launched its payment service in Germany late in 2018, with the market seen as being particularly tough for mobile financial services due to the high usage rate of physical cash. But both Google Pay and Apple Pay have since launched, broadening availability of mobile payment propositions.

Cooperative banks are offering their customers contactless payment apps for Android devices, with a launch in 2018 supported by the majority (85 per cent) of BVR members. But they have not been able to extend this to iPhone due to restrictions placed on the system by Apple.

Heise Online said the grouping of German savings banks, Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, had also had positive discussions regarding the launch of Apple Pay. Like with the cooperative banks, an Android contactless payment app is already available.