Use your app to pay (Photo: Apple Pay)

The tech mogul has conquered new territories: the Apple PayUK launch day has come and will make life nice and simple.

By now, most of you know what I’m going on about when I mention “Apple Pay,” but just so everyone is clear on everything, here is the official definition according to Apple: “Apple Pay will change how you make purchases with breakthrough contactless payment technology and unique security features built right into the devices you have with you every day. So you can use your iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad to pay in a simple, secure, and private way.”

If your eyes started sparkling at this point, I can understand; because this is a huge step towards making online gambling payments a lot simpler. Its launch today in the United Kingdom goes to show how people prefer simplicity over anything else. According to Marketwatch, Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal that “more than one million credit cards were activated on Apple Pay within the first 72 hours of its debut.” And these are numbers for only the US. But now, let’s talk about what is happening in the UK.

Apple Pay UK is going to be used by nearly all the major chains

According to The Telegraph, the brand new service will be available across more than 250,000 retailers in the UK, among them are Waitrose, Boots, Whole Foods and Marks & Spencer. People will also be able to use the smart payment solution when charging their Oyster cards; Transport For London will also be an Apple Pay partner. Customers of Santander, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland will be able to use the service in the first round. HSBC and First Direct clients will be able to join the club of Apple Payers towards the end of July.

People using Lloyds, Halifax and the Bank of Scotland as their bank will have to wait a bit more to be able to pay will Apple; until autumn. The Telegraph reports that Barclays is not willing to partner up with Apply Pay for the time being, which might be due to the “bank’s own ventures into contactless payment through its bPay mobile payment initiative.” We have yet to see how this will affect UK-based live and online gambling companies, but hopes remain high for an expansion into the casino industry.