Earlier this month, Apple launched Apple Pay in Australia. However, the mobile payment service was only available for AMEX card holders in the country that greatly limited its reach among consumers.
Australian Labor spokesman on digital innovation, Ed Husic, has now accused Australian banks of anti-competitive behaviour for not supporting Apple Pay. In a letter to the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Bankers’ Association, Ed Husic says that consumers have been “denied choices” when it comes to digital payments because of majority of the banks not supporting Apple Pay. He says that retail banks have “effectively boycotted” Apple’s mobile payment system which is ultimately a loss for customers.
“Australian consumers should not be denied the ability to make payment choices that are openly available to consumers globally,” Mr Husic wrote.“No doubt some will argue this move by the banks is anti-competitive – I am certainly concerned that it denies consumer access to a secure, efficient payment platform.”
Apparently, many banks in Australia walked away from supporting Apple Pay due to the higher fees that Apple demanded. Since almost every major bank in the country has their own mobile payment system, they had no real benefit in supporting Apple Pay.
While MasterCard is reportedly interested in supporting Apple Pay in Australia, Visa has sided with banks who are not interested in Apple Pay.
Apple has lately gotten aggressive in rolling out Apple Pay to other countries of the world. Earlier this month, the company has expanded Apple Pay to Canada and Australia, and multiple reports indicate that the company is on track to launch Apple Pay in China by February next year.
[Via Sydney Morning Herald]
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