Apple Pay partners with American Express for Australia launch

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news American Express card members in Australia can now use Apple Pay to purchase products and services at participating merchants across the country.

Entry into Australia means Apple Pay is now active in four countries, with the US, the UK and Canada also on the list. The service went live in Canada on 17 November.

Apple’s mobile payment and digital wallet system, which launched in the US in 2014, can be used on the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad and Apple Watch.

Members can add their eligible personal, small business and corporate American Express card and pay at stores where contactless American Express payments are currently accepted. Users can also use Apple Pay to pay within participating merchant apps.

People using an eligible American Express Card with Apple Pay will receive real-time notifications and will be able to use their iOS device to view details of all recent purchases on their card.

Apple Pay also gives direct access to the American Express mobile app, providing access to Amex Offers and the ability to use their membership rewards points to pay for recent purchases.

“At American Express we are focused on giving our customers innovative, convenient and secure ways to pay, said Dean Chadwick, VP Consumer Marketing, American Express Australia and New Zealand. “With Australians leading the world in the adoption of contactless payments, we are proud to now offer the convenience and security of Apple Pay to our customers.”

One of the key features of Apple Pay is security. When a user 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.

The app keeps customer payment information hidden from retailers and creates a dynamic security code that is generated for each transaction. Furthermore, Apple has said that it does not track usage, which stays between the customers, vendors and banks. Should the device be lost, users can also remotely halt the service using the Find My iPhone service.

Emily Roberts, Vice President Global Merchant Services, American Express Australia and New Zealand, said that payment innovations such as Apple Pay also bring benefits for merchants.

“Our merchant customers continually look for efficient and secure ways for their customers to shop and pay, while decreasing the time spent at the point of sale,” she said. “The introduction and rapid adoption of contactless technology has helped satisfy shoppers’ desire for speed and convenience as well as simplified the payment process for businesses. American Express is able to build on this innovation with the introduction of Apple Pay for our card members.”

Image credit: Apple

3 COMMENTS

  1. Interesting to see what percentage of the transaction fee Apple is taking from AMEX? Anyone know?
    The main reason VISA and MC won’t sign with Apple is that they don’t want to pay Apple any transaction fees (or at least a much smaller amount that Apple are asking) so are holding off playing a stalemate game until Apple comes to the table or customer demand forces their hand to some extent.
    Tap-and-go which nearly all credit cards in Australia have had for a number of years now is only just ‘new’ in the US so thats why Apple Pay seems so futuristic for many in the US who have always had to swipe and sign. Even today many merchants in the US still require a physical signature at POS.

    • It’s not Visa or MasterCard that don’t want to pay… it’s the banks. We’re actually being held hostage by the banks on this, as they are only looking to maintain their maximum profits and Apple are asking for a small percentage of the transaction fee – a matter of cents – if that.

      Before you say “oh, but it’s not innovative in Australia, we’ve had PayPass/PayWave/Tap-n-Go for years…” there is a major difference; the difference in ApplePay is such that it doesn’t transmit your _actual_ credit card number, instead using a device account number. This number is unique to each device, and also doesn’t even back backed up when you wipe your phone. Wipe your phone? Need to re-authenticate with your bank to get a new unique number.

      • “Small percentage” = Apple wants a third or more of the profit margin

        Our banks do these transactions at around 50c and there’s a push on to bring it down to 30c. Apple wants 15c, so somewhere between a third & half of all transactions.

        In the US bank rates are about double ours & the technology was new so it was an extra service for an acceptable cost. In the UK the banks have apparently negotiated Apple down substantially. And Amex already surcharges above the rest of the market so they can swallow Apple’s commission to boost market share.

        This is actually one where (surprise) the banks are the marginally better guys.

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