Almost nine months after its launch in the US, Apple announced that it will be launching Apple Pay in the UK in July 2015. Starting in July, iPhone 6, 6 Plus and Apple Watch users will be able to pay for items in store simply by holding their device over a compatible payment terminal at more than 250,000 locations, including Transport for London.

Quite a few retailers have already signed on to Apple Pay, including Lidl, M&S, Post Office, Liberty, McDonalds, Boots, Costa, Waitrose, M&S Simply Food, Pret, BP, Subway, Wagamama, Spar, KFC, Nando’s, New Look, Starbucks, Dune and JD Sports. Surprisingly none of the top five supermarkets are on the list.

Initially, Apple Pay will have the same in-store £20 purchase limit as current contactless payments. This limit will increase to £30 in the autumn. However, not all retailers will have this limit at launch. Boots has confirmed that its UK stores will “go limitless” in November.

Apple has been working with banks and retailers for the launch since last year, and claims that by this autumn, Apple Pay will work with nearly 70% of UK credit and debit cards. They have already made agreements with major banks including Halifax, Santander, Nationwide, HSBC, TSB, Bank of Scotland, M&S Bank, NatWest, American Express, Royal Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Lloyds Bank and MBNA.

Apple Pay will not only be available in stores – it will be available in app as well, with no transaction limit. Users of compatible transactional apps will be able to use their fingerprint to authenticate purchases. So far those retail apps with Apple Pay functionality at launch will include Addison Lee, Airbnb, Argos, Booking.com, British Airways, Domino’s, Easyjet, Hailo, HotelTonight, Hungryhouse, JD Sports, Just Eat, Lastminute.com, Miss Selfridge, Ocado, Stubhub, Thetrainline.com, Topshop, Uncover, Vueling, Yplan, Zalando and Zara. There are sure to be more to follow. US-based apps including Target, Sephora, Groupon, Uber and many more have been using Apple Pay since it launched across the pond. In addition to iPhone 6, 6 Plus and the Apple Watch, the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 will be able to make in-app purchases using Apple Pay.

Apple Pay’s UK launch will also incorporate loyalty, making it much more like a wallet. As such, Apple is renaming its Passbook app as ‘Wallet,’ where users can store their credit, debit and loyalty cards.

With the iPhone accounting for more than 40% of the UK smartphone market, almost any technological advancement Apple supports inevitably becomes hugely sought after. Although many banks and mobile providers have been vying to launch contactless mobile payments in the UK for quite some time, they have not yet been successful due to industry infighting and lack of consumer interest. However, with Apple now leading the way, contactless now has the backing to become a major success.

This announcement gives Apple a head start over Android Pay and Samsung Pay, neither of which have yet made the announcement of plans to enter the UK market.

Research released by Connexity explored UK consumers’ opinions on the prospect of mobile payment systems and whether they will gain widespread consumer adoption. The study found that 37.8% of respondents liked the idea of using a trusted mobile wallet to pay for goods.

According to the study, almost 10% of UK consumers have already used a payment app to purchase items, but 63.9% would like to use Apple Pay. Adolescents are fuelling the demand for mobile payment systems with 66.1% of Generation X and 61.8% of Generation Y stating they are interested in using Apple Pay.

UK retailers wishing to remain at the forefront of multichannel retail and meet customer demands should consider integrating Apple Pay into their in-store and in-app offering.