Apple Pay is now available for UniCredit customers in Italy.

UniCredit is the first bank Italian bank offering Apple pay, according to a UniCredit press release. Apple Pay makes it possible for customers with any type of UniCredit account to pay for purchases with Apple Pay in brick-and-mortar and online shops. To use Apple Pay, UniCredit customers only need to have a UniCredit card plus an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or MacBook. App MonHey must be activated from the UniCredit mobile banking site.

Apple Pay works throughout Italy and beyond with terminal readers that support contactless payment. Simply hold the iPhone, Apple Watch or other Apple device near the contactless reader and press the Touch ID button.

Offering Apple Pay is part of UniCredit's goals of innovation and digitalization as part of the company's Transform 2019 plan to improve customer experience.

When customers use Apple Pay, the credit or debit card numbers connected to Apple Pay are not stored on the device. Instead, a unique ID is encrypted into the Apple device, allowing for secure authorized payments.

"We are excited to bring Apple Pay to our customers in Italy from the very first day of its Italian launch," Gianni Franco Papa, general manager of UniCredit, said in the release. "Apple Pay is one of the most relevant technological innovations and widespread payment systems. UniCredit continuously strive to provide our customers with solutions that make their financial lives easier and Apple Pay does exactly this by offering an easy, fast and secure payments system."