Apple Pay

Getting started with ‘virtual’ Suica and Apple Pay on your iPhone or Apple Watch

October 27, 2017 by Beau 1 Comment

One of the ‘big’ changes that Apple quietly introduced with the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and the X, as well as the Apple Watch Series 3, is support for Suica no matter where you buy your phone or Watch.

While Suica support was added to the iPhone 7 and Watch Series 2, they were restricted to models sold in Japan. So if you travel to Japan often and wanted to take advantage of Suica on your phone, unfortunately this would mean you’d need to buy your phone (or watch) in Japan. (which then had it’s own list of downsides, for example, the camera shutter is permanently on, thanks to the local laws. As an Australian, you’d also miss out on the effective ‘warranty’ above and beyond a year thanks to your consumer rights).

Apple has changed that this year; you can now both add ‘existing’ cards to Apple Pay, or create virtual cards via the Suica app, which I’ll show you here. You don’t need to fiddle with any settings, nor create any additional App Store accounts! [Read more…] about Getting started with ‘virtual’ Suica and Apple Pay on your iPhone or Apple Watch

eftpos comes to Apple Pay

October 18, 2017 by Beau Leave a Comment

18eftpos is finally available on Apple Pay in Australia, marking all four payment networks (Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos) available for payments on iPhone and Apple Watch (and iPad and Mac for online/app payments). With eftpos only available in Australia, and currently in store only (no support for online or phone payments), it’s actually not the first country specific network to be supported by Apple, with Interac cards supported in Canada.

As what seems to be the norm these days, ANZ is first out of the gates, and is also the only bank supporting eftpos. While ‘debit’ cards have been available in Apple Pay for a while, previously they’ve been dual scheme Visa/Mastercard cards, and when you tap your phone or watch, it goes through as a ‘Credit’ transaction via the Visa/Mastercard networks. While this has some benefits (especially when it comes to chargebacks), it also usually costs a business more than an eftpos payment would.

Interestingly, Apple Wallet includes support for eftpos’ unique CHQ/SAV accounts, where you can change the account that you’re tapping with, a boon for those with multiple bank accounts linked to a single card. [Read more…] about eftpos comes to Apple Pay

Why the ACCC siding with the banks against Apple will not be in consumers’ interests

August 22, 2016 by Beau Leave a Comment

David Glance, University of Western Australia

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has denied four of Australia’s banks an interim authorisation to act collectively against Apple and other third party wallet providers (Samsung and Google) in Australia.

In essence, the banks asked the ACCC to allow them to collectively negotiate with Apple over the terms of its electronic payment system Apple Pay. They have argued that Apple is stifling competition by not allowing banks direct access to the NFC wireless functionality in the iPhone so that they can create their own “digital wallets”.

The ACCC has decided not to grant their request, instead it has stated that it needs more time and more consultation before it makes a decision. [Read more…] about Why the ACCC siding with the banks against Apple will not be in consumers’ interests

ANZ and Amex the winners in Australia’s banks’ fight with Apple over payment apps

July 30, 2016 by Beau Leave a Comment

David Glance, University of Western Australia

Australia’s banks have always enjoyed a lucrative income from credit card “interchange fees”, the charges that the banks levy on merchants’ sales. These fees amount to AU $2.5 billion a year which are ultimately passed on to consumers.

Unwilling to share any of this revenue with Apple, all but ANZ and American Express have refused to adopt Apple Pay. Instead, four of the largest banks, NAB, Westpac, Commonwealth and Bendigo and Adelaide have asked Australia’s competition regulator, the ACCC, for permission to act collectively to negotiate with Apple over access for their own digital wallet products on its phones, tablets and watches.

The banks, along with their industry representatives are claiming that they are taking this action in the interest of providing “Australians with real choice and better outcomes”. They are also allegedly concerned about security and standards surrounding the way in which customers add their cards to Apple Pay. [Read more…] about ANZ and Amex the winners in Australia’s banks’ fight with Apple over payment apps

Why the Apple Pay ‘mark’ is a terrible idea

May 29, 2016 by Beau 3 Comments

One of the great things about Apple Pay is that it ‘just works’ – wherever you can already make contactless payments, Apple Pay should work. Retailers and merchants don’t need to explicitly support Apple Pay.
Unfortunately, Apple is keen on pushing the Apple Pay brand/mark and have even partnered with ANZ to display the mark on all ANZ issued terminals.

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