It's being reported today that Israelis using Apple iPhones will be able to make payments with their phones using Apple Pay, hopefully, by the end of this year.

According to several sources in Israel today, Apple Pay is estimated to launch in Israel by the end of the year, near the date on which the Bank of Israel begins requiring large businesses to be able to receive payments in accordance with the EMV standard, which allows transactions between a customer and a business to be done using advanced forms of technological means such as Apple Pay. To be clear, EMV was established by Europay, Mastercard and Visa.

Built into every smart phone is a chip called NFC which allows the cellphone to interact or "speak" with a a register, allowing for an alternative to typical payment methods such as credit cards or cash. While Android phones allow for transactions to take place through any payment application, Apple's iPhone users are only able to make a transactions using the Apple Pay app. NFC chips in Apple iPhones are encoded and blocked, allowing only for the tech company's app to make a transaction, which users must sign a contract first in order to use.

The introduction of Apple Pay in Israel is part of a worldwide revolution expected to take place within the next year. Soon, Israeli businesses will be required to use the EMV standard in their payment services.

Owing to the fact that the revolution means that businesses will need to prepare in advance, three major Israeli credit card companies, Isracard, Max and Cal sent a letter to businesses in advance, according to Israeli sources.  

According to a presentation outline found in a document seen by an Israeli publication, major businesses will be required to move to the EMV standard by the end of November 2020.

The document further noted that smaller businesses have been given until the end of July 2021 to make the transition. The exceptions are and Gas stations and businesses that sell primarily online. They'll have until the end of July 2022 to comply.