CBA to turn on Apple Pay in January
Commonwealth Bank of Australia will share a slice of its transaction revenue with the world’s largest company, Apple, after relenting to customer demand and agreeing to turn on Apple Pay in January, a move which indicates the technology giant has the upper hand in the battle to control smartphone digital wallets.
More than two-and-a-half years after rival ANZ Banking Group made Apple Pay available, CBA’s move will put pressure on National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corp, who continue to prevent their iPhone-carrying customers from using them or their Apple watches to make tap-and-go payments.
After sustaining a year of intense pressure at the banking royal commission, CBA’s group executive for retail banking Angus Sullivan said CBA “heard repeatedly from our customers is that they want Apple Pay” and responding to that “underscores our commitment to becoming a better, simpler bank”.
CBA was planning to switch the service on earlier this week, but decided to take a conservative approach and wait for an unspecified date in January in order to avoid unnecessary pressure being placed on the payments system coming into the critical Christmas retail trading season. CBA has 10 million retail customers; there could be around five million customers with iPhones, given Apple penetration rates.
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