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eftpos comes to Apple Pay

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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

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Apple Pay Banks Not SupportedDavid 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