Apple Pay to hit Australia by end of 2015

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blog As you may recall, in late 2014 Apple revealed it was going to allow people to pay for things with their iPhone and Apple Watch. The service is apparently moderately popular in the United States, but has it taken off in Australia? Not really — because Apple hasn’t actually made it available Down Under just yet. Part of the problem is that Australia’s banks are not to keen on the technology, due to the potential it has to cut into their existing business model.

Well, overnight in the US Apple revealed it is still planning on bring Apple Pay to Australia — and the launch could happen sooner than you expect. Engadget reports (we recommend you click here for the full article):

“Tim Cook used his company’s fiscal results call to confirm that the tap-to-pay service will be available in Australia and Canada by the end of 2015, while Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain will get it in early 2016. However, it sounds as if you’ll be limited to using an American Express card at first. Despite leaks, you probably won’t be using any other account for iPhone-based purchases on launch.”

It sounds as though Apple Pay will be quite limited when it first launches in Australia, but then that’s not surprising — change comes slowly in Australia’s financial system. Still, this is the way things are going to go eventually — by 2025, I highly doubt anybody will be paying for things with old-style pieces of plastic with magnetic stripes, or even pieces of plastic with chips embedded in them. It’ll all be electronic. So it’s good to see Apple laying yet another plank in that giant bridge to the future.

Will I be using Apple Pay? I’d like to. However, I can already pay for things with my iPhone courtesy of the Commonwealth Bank’s existing apps. Let’s hope Apple’s launch means more retailers start to understand what the hell I am trying to do when I wave my iPhone at their EFTPOS terminal. So far, most don’t seem to.

Image credit: Apple

6 COMMENTS

  1. I’ve been using “Cash by Optus” for months now… (https://cash.optus.com.au/)
    Always gets a laugh/question when I wave my
    huge Samsung Note 4 at their PayWave terminal.

    Wish St George would hurry up and introduce something similar,
    save me having to operate via Optus.

  2. Part of the issues with a 3rd party doing this is the surcharges that get incurred (get theirs + the card surcharge). Most MCard and Visa are small enough % that the vendors just absorb them (or if a big chain have negotiated a good rate with the banks so its well below 1%).

    I don’t know what % apple is charging but when things start going from 1% or below to 3+ etc folks get a might ansty on the other side of the registers.

    Other thing I am not big on is the biometrics (well finger print) because its a set of pruning sheers away from someone wanting your phone and finger ;)

    I will agree though in that I also wish our banks moved a little faster on these things too.

      • the menu (only) button has been a fingerprint scanner for the last couple hasn’t it? it was a big thing when it first was touted I thought (lock your phone with a fingerprint). I don’t really care for apple per se so never pay too much attn.

        Regardless I’d rather a password and pin that a piece of me being needed to unlock something that might have a value.

  3. I hope this does happen. I use a Windows phone which has Windows Wallet which is able to make NFC payments from the cards you put into the system but their small user base means they have no real reason to fight this battle. If Apple opens the doors to this system I am sure Microsoft will walk on through.
    Unfortunately the Commonwealth Bank does not have payments available through my phones apps yet but if they do I will be the first to use it.

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