Apple faces challenges in Australia’s mobile payments market

Banks may have serious concerns regarding Apple’s mobile payments service

Some of Australia’s major banks may have a problem with Apple and its new mobile payments service. According to a report from the Financial Review, banks have taken issue with the interchange fees associated with Apple, and if the problem persists, banks may begin looking for alternatives to Apple Pay, which are becoming more plentiful with each passing month. With Samsung and Google launching its own mobile payments services, Apple may have to work to satisfy banks in order to maintain its position in the mobile market.

Banks have no wish to provide Apple with significant fees on transactions being made

The crux of the issue between Apple and Australia’s major banks is $2 billion in interchange fees that the banks make every year. In the United States, it is estimated that Apple earns 15 cents for every $100 that is spent through Apple Pay. In Australia, however, banks are not willing to provide Apple with the cut of the fees that it is asking for. If this problem continues, Apple may have trouble establishing an effective foothold in the Australian market, where consumers are becoming very interested in mobile payments.

Australian banks may be ahead of the curve when it comes to mobile payments

According to Ian Narev, CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Apple Pay may face significant challenges in the country due to the existence of other mobile payments products. Narev suggests that many Australian banks are far ahead of others in the world when it comes to mobile payments services. As far as Apple Pay is concerned, there are other services in the country that have the same functionality as Apple’s service that have been available to consumers for 18 months or more.

Banks want Apple to help support the development of a new payments infrastructure

One of the major concerns that banks have concerning Apple Pay in Australia is that the Reserve Bank of Australia is forcing the country’s banks to help cover the cost of development a real-time payments infrastructure. Banks do not want Apple to benefit from the development of this infrastructure without investing into its establishment itself.