Bank of Ireland has given its first indication that it plans to launch Apple Pay and Android Pay with its banking services.

The bank, which is the only major financial institution in Ireland without either Apple Pay or Android Pay, now says that the modern payment processes are in its future.

"We expect to integrate phone payments in the future," a spokesman for the bank told Independent.ie.

"However we are not in a position to confirm timings."

Asked to clarify "phone payments", the spokesman said that it would "include Apple and Android Pay".

Apple Pay was launched in Ireland in early 2017, while Android Pay has been in the market since December 2016.

All of Bank of Ireland’s main rivals have incorporated at least one of the phone payment systems due to customer demand.

However, Bank of Ireland has stalled on introducing the technology, leading to substantial dissatisfaction among some of its customers.

"I changed banks away from Bank of Ireland because of it," said Dermot Daly, founder of Dublin tech company Tapadoo.

Apple and Android Pay work in a similar fashion to contactless cards and are accepted in the same locations, including the majority of convenience shops, cafes, restaurants and retailers around the country.

The phone payment systems are regarded as being more secure than contactless cards because they require a fingerprint, FaceID scan or pin code to work, while contactless cards can be used by whoever is holding one.

Online Editors