[NewsPoster]

The lack of support for Apple Pay by Australian banks has forced regulatory bodies to examine the reasons behind the slowness. The Reserve Bank of Australia has been called upon to look into alleged anti-competitive behavior in the card-free payments market, over claims banks are not signing up for Apple Pay support in favor of using their own systems, something which is said to damage customer choice for mobile payment services.

Australian Labor MP Ed Husic has complained to both the RBA and the Australian Bankers' Association with concerns over the "effective boycott," reports the Sydney Morning Herald. "Australian consumers should not be denied the ability to make payment choices that are openly available to consumers globally. 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."

Banks in Australia have their own mobile payment systems, as well as pay-wave terminals for in-store purchases, which the banks want to protect. There is also the suggestion that Apple wants to keep its transaction fee rate it currently uses in the United States, but Australian banks usually earn half the typical US fee, meaning Apple's fee would make more of an impact on revenues in Australia.

"It's certainly appreciated that commercial negotiations may occasionally frustrate the introduction of new payment methods but it shouldn't unduly delay the emergence of new methods," writes Husic. "Neither should there be a delay because some banks want to drive customers onto their own individual technology platform ahead of other platforms." Husic suggests to the RBA that it enhances the "national payment systems framework" to make the technology more neutral to all parties.

An ABA spokesperson confirmed Husic's letter had been received, but did not wish to comment on commercial decisions made by individual banks. The spokesperson did state "Australian consumers already enjoy a diverse range of world-leading apps from their financial institutions,: and that "Innovation in banking will continue to evolve hand in hand with technology."

While most bank customers will not be able to use Apple Pay for the foreseeable future, there is still one way of using Apple Pay in Australia. American Express enabled support for the payment platform earlier this month, with plans to expand the service into Hong Kong, Singapore, and Spain sometime next year.

[Inkling]

Strange that selling your own products but not those of competitors is called an "effective boycott." If Ford dealerships don't sell new Chevys is that a boycott? What about the absence of Samsung smartphones at Apple stores? If Apple wants in Australian banks, it needs to offer a competitive deal not encouraging whining about a "boycott."

[SunSeeker]

It's not quite the same thing as your examples, anyway who cares if it's a boycott or not
I purchased an iPhone 6 expecting Apple Pay to arrive in a few months, I'm now on a 6s and still waiting

[Charles Martin]

Inkling's example is a poor one -- this might be a case of a set of competitors conspiring to "lock out" a new entrant in favour of their own systems -- a more relevant example might be, for example, if all the cable TV providers in your area agreed not to allow Netflix but only their own on-demand systems. That's not legal. I'm not saying that that's what is going on here, but that that would be a more relevant example of what they are accused of.

[revco]

To quote the article in the Sydney Morning Herald:
"...(Apple) is understood to earn 15 cents per $100 for Apple Pay transactions in the US and it wants to maintain this rate for Australia, despite Australian banks earning roughly half the typical US fee."

If Apple doesn't budge on their fee then do you think banks will absorb the extra charge? Of course not. It'll be passed onto the consumer. At this point I see no benefit for Apple Pay in Australia. We have a perfectly good tap & pay system in place now.