With Apple commanding a lot of resources and cultural influence, many companies and developers have naturally flocked to their platform and products. However over in Australia, it is a different story. As you might have heard, Apple is having a hard time trying to convince Australian banks to support Apple Pay, and recently it looks like they might have been snubbed.
According to a report from Reuters, it has been revealed that Australia’s four major banks – ANZ, NAB, Westpac, and Commonwealth – have agreed to start accepting payments made with Android Pay, which for those unfamiliar is Google’s take on mobile payments. Given the fierce rivalry between Apple and Google especially on the mobile front, this move by the banks appear to be a rather blatant snub at the Cupertino company.
However this isn’t to say that the major banks won’t ever accept Apple Pay. Instead according to Foad Fadaghi, managing director of technology research firm Telsyte, “It’s a big bargaining chip for (Australian) banks to use to force a better deal with Apple.” As it stands Apple Pay is available in Australia, although at the moment only American Express credit cards are supported.
Our previous report suggested that the local banks were trying to figure out how Apple Pay would add value to them. One of their reservations is how much Apple is demanding from them, which is 15 basis points in interchange fees that apparently Android Pay does not require. So if you’re living in Australia or you are planning on visiting, don’t expect to pay with Apple Pay for now (unless you’re an Amex customer).
Filed in . Read more about Android Pay and Apple Pay.