How to use Apple Pay in Spain (and any country)

Tim Cook himself assured that Apple Pay would arrive in Spain in 2016, so that at most we will be a few months away from the mobile payment service reaching our iPhone and Apple Watch. But if you don't want to wait and You want to try how Apple Pay works in Spain or in any other country that does not yet officially have this payment system, you should know that there are ways to test it, and we are going to explain how, with the advantage that you can even do it completely free.

Apple Pay is associated with the card, not the country

Apple Pay depends on the credit card being issued by an entity that is within the Apple payment program. Once we have a compatible card we can use it in any country, as long as the payment terminal is compatible. In Spain this is not a problem, since terminals with "contactless" technology are already the norm, so the limiting factor is the card. There is precisely the trick that allows us to use Apple Pay anywhere: let's get a virtual UK MasterCard with Boon.

Requirements

• Have a UK Apple account (you can create one following this tutorial of the United States simply by changing the country)
• Download the Boon app (free which you can download from here)
• Have the regional configuration of our iPhone configured in the United Kingdom (within Settings> General> Language and Region)

How to create the card and add it to Apple Pay

You already have everything you need, now you just have to open the Boon application and register for a MasterCard virtual credit card that will also recharge us with 5 pounds as a welcome gift when updating our account to the "Basic" plan, which is completely free and we only have to provide some identifying information. Once we have the card created, we must click on "Add to Apple Wallet" and the card will be added directly to Apple's payment system, to be used with Apple Pay.

If you also have an Apple Watch and want to add the card to the watch as well To be able to use it to make payments, you must access the "More Devices" menu of the Boon application and there click on the corresponding option to add it.

How to pay with Apple Pay with your iPhone and Apple Watch

When you have to make a payment and want to use Apple Pay on your iPhone, the procedure is very simple: press the home button twice with the iPhone locked and the credit card will appear on the screen that you have configured, bring the iPhone to the payment terminal and identify yourself with the touch ID, the payment will have been made.

On the Apple Watch it is similar: press the lower button twice and the card will appear on the screen. Bring the watch closer to the payment terminal, and in this case you will not need to identify yourself with Touch ID, since the watch has its own unlock code that you must use every time you put it on your wrist.

It is not a perfect method ... but it is what it is

Boon is a prepaid service with which you can recharge the virtual MasterCard card using another credit card from any country. But each recharge will have a commission of 1 pound. In addition, when using the card outside the UK, you will also be charged a small commission, so payments with this system are not exactly cheap. But since the welcome gift offers you 5 pounds, you can try Apple Pay for free and kill the bug until it officially arrives in Spain or your country of residence.