HSBC accidentally confirms Apple Pay UK launch on 14 July

HSBC Bank seems to have let slip that Apple Pay's contactless mobile payments service will launch in the UK on Tuesday 14 July.

In a tweet on HSBC's official Twitter account that has since been deleted, a bank support representative wrote, "Yes! It's due to launch this Tuesday! We are excited too! ^FP", according to 9to5Mac.

Previously, leaked memos from several UK retailers including Waitrose stated that the Apple Pay ecosystem would be live in the UK from 14 July. The Waitrose memo said that an implementation guide to teach its staff how to accept contactless mobile payments would be issued on 3 July.

Users will only be able to use the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to make contactless mobile payments up to the amount of £20 per transaction, and they can add multiple bank and credit cards to the system.

When the user gets to the payment terminal in a shop, the phone will ask the user to confirm which card they would like to pay with. They can then authorise the payment transaction by pressing their finger or thumb on the Touch ID home button on the iPhone 6.

Customers will be able to use Apple Pay to pay for purchases at Boots, BP, Lidl, Costa, KFC, McDonald's, Marks & Spencer, New Look, Liberty, Pret A Manger, Starbucks, Waitrose, the Post Office and Spar.

Several banks have signed up to use Apple Pay from July, and they include: American Express, First Direct, HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Ulster Bank. Other banks plan to offer the service in Autumn.

This payment method would undoubtedly be faster than getting out cash or paying with chip-and-pin point of sale (POS) terminals in shops, supermarkets and pubs, but it will not be as fast as tapping a contactless bank card or the Oyster Card on the turnstiles on the London Underground.

Unless users are tapping an Apple Watch on the turnstile terminal that has been paired with an iPhone, they will not be able to simply walk through.

If they want to pay for transport using Apple Pay, they will need to prepare their iPhone prior to reaching the turnstiles by opening the Passbook app and selecting which payment card they want to use, before tapping the phone against the turnstile reader when they get there.

At the moment, the limit for all transactions is £20, but this limit will be raised to £30 in autumn 2015 for all UK retailers.

IBTimes UK has contacted Apple to confirm the Apple Pay start date and is currently waiting for a response.