Apple Pay is now available in Paraguay

Apple Pay makes it possible to complete payments on iPhone without the use of a physical card. While Apple’s contactless payment method has been available in the United States for well over a decade, it’s only now launching in Paraguay.

As originally spotted by 9to5mac, Mastercard announced that cards issued by Banco Continental, Itau, and Ueno Bank can all be added to Apple Wallet and used with Apple Pay. The company revealed the move in a blog post, which highlights the user benefits of the Apple Pay launch.

“We are delighted to work with our issuers to bring the ease, security, and privacy of Apple Pay to consumers in Paraguay,” said Federico Cofman, Mastercard Leader for Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. “This launch reinforces Mastercard’s commitment to providing innovative solutions for people to choose how they want to pay.”

The worldwide availability of Apple Pay has increased significantly over the past few years. In 2023, the service became available in Chile, South Korea, as well as Vietnam, while 2021 saw the feature’s debut in Colombia and Costa Rica.

Although Apple Pay is likely to become available in more countries in the near future, there’s a lot more in the works for Apple’s contactless payment method, and even Apple Wallet as a whole. The future of Apple Wallet could see the digital Car Key make its way to rental vehicles, among other things.

In an October 2024 interview, the Vice President of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, Jennifer Bailey, revealed key insights about the future of the services and their great success in transit applications, where Apple Pay is used for bus and train tickets.

Over time, Apple wants to fully replace the physical wallet with a virtual one, the idea being that users will have their cards, car keys, driver’s licenses, and IDs all within the Apple Wallet app. There’s still a long way to go, though, as Apple Pay is still not accepted in all parts of the world.