When will Apple Pay be available in Pakistan?

I’m not looking for a debate. 😀 Here’s a short list of how each works.

Apple Wallet (Apple Pay) Security:

• Secure Enclave – Stores payment data in a separate, encrypted hardware chip.

• Tokenization – Your card number is never stored or shared with merchants, instead, a unique Device Account Number is used for transactions.

• Touch ID/Face ID – Requires biometric authentication for payments. Does not support PIN as it’s considered less secure. Biometric Authentication: Requires Face ID or Touch ID for every transaction.

• No Direct Data Collection – Apple does not track or store transaction data or store payment details for advertising purposes.

• End-to-End Encryption – Ensures data remains private even when syncing across Apple devices.

• Remote Lock & Erase – If your phone is lost, you can remotely erase Apple Wallet via Find My.

• Device Lock Dependency: If your phone is locked or wiped remotely, Apple Pay cannot be used.

Google Wallet (Google Pay) Security:

• Tokenization – Like Apple, it replaces your card number with a virtual token.

• Biometric & PIN Authentication – Payments require fingerprint, face unlock, or PIN.

• Cloud-Based Encryption – Payment data is encrypted and stored on Google’s servers.

• More Data Collection – Google Wallet integrates with other Google services and may use some transaction data for analytics or advertising.

• Remote Lock & Erase – If your phone is lost, you can remotely erase Google Wallet via Find My Device.

• Uses Host Card Emulation (HCE) – which relies on cloud-based tokenization instead of a dedicated Secure Element

• Device Lock Dependency – Requires authentication for payments, but Google Pay can still function if a phone is unlocked.

Apple Wallet is often considered more secure because it relies on a dedicated hardware security chip (Secure Enclave) and doesn’t store payment details on Apple servers. Apple Pay is much more secure because of its hardware-based security (Secure Element), strict privacy policies, and tighter ecosystem control.

Google Wallet is also secure but relies on cloud-based security and may involve more data-sharing with Google services. Google Pay is also secure but relies more on cloud-based security, making it potentially more vulnerable to online attacks.

If privacy and hardware based encryption is important, Apple Wallet is the winner.

It's often claimed that Apple Wallet is more secure than Google Wallet. However, the fact that Apple restricts NFC usage in regions like India seems counterintuitive to this claim. I've used Google Wallet and payment services on Android in India for over 10+ years without any issues, finding it both fast and secure, sometimes even superior to Apple's offerings. Apple pay/NFC features are more secure only because they disabled this services in many countries? :)

Why do you assume Google Wallet is the sane as Apple Wallet? If you want a less secure wallet, switch to Google.