The Swiss wealth manager agreed a deal with the U.S. tech giant over payment services – after a long and rocky road. 

After openly feuding before sitting down to negotiate, UBS and Apple have agreed on rolling out payment services on the Swiss bank's credit cards, according to a tweet by UBS (in German):

The deal comes more than a year after Apple and Credit Suisse's payments pact, which signals that Apple edged away from demands that had made a tie-up impossible in 2018.

Controversial Twint

Instead of Apple Pay, Switzerland's banks and financial providers have attempted to mount their own solutions – UBS built a contactless payment system which runs on Android phones, for example. Apple also competes with Twint, a bank-backed app for domestic payments.

The Twint cooperation, which connects directly to user bank accounts, led to suspicions of collusion among banks to hinder Apple and Samsung's payment solutions. UBS on Friday said there is no connection between its agreement with Apple and an ongoing regulatory probe into potential collusion. 

Competitor: Cash

Meanwhile, six-year-old Twint has been quietly expanding out of start-up life: last month, the payments firm broke with Swiss digital shop Galaxus, which accuses Twint of overcharging for its services.

In Switzerland, Twint's biggest competitor – Apple aside – is actually cash. The coronavirus pandemic and rush to online shopping and payments is likely to spur change in terms of the Swiss' love for cash.