Apple’s mobile payment and digital wallet service, Apple Pay, launched in Singapore on Tuesday (April 19).

It is, however, only available for American Express card members currently. The service will roll out to DBS, UOB and Standard Chartered credit and debit card holders “in the coming months”, said Ms Jennifer Bailey, Vice-President of Apple Pay. Support for Visa cards is also on the way.

Apple Pay can be used at various retailers, including NTUC FairPrice, Starbucks, Uniqlo, TopShop, Shaw Theaters and Din Tai Fung. Others like BreadTalk, Cold Storage, FoodRepublic, Uber and Giant will also be adding support for Apple Pay soon, Apple’s website said.

To use Apple Pay, consumers first connect their credit or debit cards to a mobile wallet. Users then pay at stores by holding their iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch close to terminals with near field communication (NFC) technology.

Singapore is the sixth country to get the service, after it was launched in the United States in 2014. Apple Pay was released in the United Kingdom in July last year, follow by Canada and Australia in November and China in February this year. The service is expected to roll out in Spain and Hong Kong later this year.

Apple Pay’s launch comes ahead of Android Pay and Samsung Pay, both of which are also expected to launch in Singapore this year. Samsung Pay will have DBS, OCBC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank among its partner companies, as well as American Express, MasterCard and Visa.