American Express (Amex) has announced that Apple Pay will be available in key global markets allowing card members to pay on the go with an iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad.

Apple Pay is expected to be available for card members in Canada and Australia this year and in Spain, Singapore and Hong Kong in 2016. With Apple Pay, card members in these countries will have the ability to seamlessly add their eligible consumer, small business and corporate American Express Cards and pay with iPhone or Apple Watch in stores where contactless payments and American Express are accepted.

Card members will also be able to use their iPhone or iPad to pay within participating merchant apps.

When paying with Apple Pay, card members will continue to get all of the protection and customer service they expect from American Express.

"With our global reach, we are able to bring Apple Pay to Card Members quickly in these important countries," said Tony Prentice, vice president, mobile products and payments, American Express. "We believe it is critical to be on the forefront of seamless and innovative payment solutions for our card members and we are pleased to be able to deliver on that with Apple Pay."

"Our customers love their experience with Apple Pay and we want to bring it to as many of our users worldwide as possible," said Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay. "With a global issuer like American Express, we are thrilled to seamlessly bring our easy, secure and private way to pay to more customers internationally.”

Just like in other countries that accept Apple Pay, card members who use an eligible American Express Card with Apple Pay will get real-time notifications and details for purchases as well as seamless connection to the Amex Mobile app for enhanced account monitoring, servicing and access to available rewards and offers.

Whether a card member swipes, clicks or taps to pay, American Express has their back, a statement said.

With fraud and online protection, American Express is working to safeguard card members, it added.

Security and privacy is at the core of American Express and Apple Pay. When a card member adds a card to Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on their device. Each transaction is authorized with a one-time unique dynamic security code. – TradeArabia News Service