THE big Aussie banks have made a last-ditch attempt to win over the ACCC in their fight against Apple Pay, scrapping all of their objections except one.
In what is likely to be the final submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry before an expected decision to be handed down in the next few weeks, the banks have ditched all of their previous complaints about transaction fees and have drawn a line in the sand on one point: the banks want full access to the NFC (Near Field Communications) antenna in the iPhone which interacts with contactless payment systems.
Labelling Apple’s most recent statement to the ACCC inquiry as containing statements that were “blatantly incorrect” and “misleading”, the group of banks made up of the Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and the Bendigo and Adelaide Banks stated their fight was to ensure a better deal for their consumers.
Labelling Apple’s most recent statement to the ACCC inquiry as containing statements that were “blatantly incorrect” and “misleading”, the group of banks made up of the Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and the Bendigo and Adelaide Banks stated their fight was to ensure a better deal for their consumers.
“NFC access allows real competition and real choice for consumers,” the banks said in their statement to the ACCC.
“If the customers ultimately prefer to use the Apple Pay wallet they can. The point of the authorisation is that consumers should be allowed to make that choice — not Apple.”
Apple, which has been fighting the case for months, rejects the idea that Australian banks should be given special access to the NFC antenna not given to any other organisation in the world.
Apple argues that opening up the NFC antenna to the banks as they request would inconvenience customers who would be forced to go into the settings every time they want to switch between cards when using their iPhone. FOR
It also argues that opening up NFC, in the same way it is open on Android phones, would impact on the security of the system.
The ACCC released its draft finding in November, siding with Apple in what chairman Rod Sims called “currently a finely balanced decision”.
It is expected to hand down its full decision next month.
“If the customers ultimately prefer to use the Apple Pay wallet they can. The point of the authorisation is that consumers should be allowed to make that choice — not Apple.”
Apple, which has been fighting the case for months, rejects the idea that Australian banks should be given special access to the NFC antenna not given to any other organisation in the world.
Apple argues that opening up the NFC antenna to the banks as they request would inconvenience customers who would be forced to go into the settings every time they want to switch between cards when using their iPhone. FOR
It also argues that opening up NFC, in the same way it is open on Android phones, would impact on the security of the system.
The ACCC released its draft finding in November, siding with Apple in what chairman Rod Sims called “currently a finely balanced decision”.
It is expected to hand down its full decision next month.
Despite the opposition to Apple Pay in its current format by three of Australia’s big four banks, Australians have taken to the mobile payment system.
Apple Pay is currently offered in Australia by ANZ, American Express and a string of smaller banks and Apple says Australians already have the highest rate of transactions per month.
Lance Blockley, a spokesman for the banks opposing Apple in the ACCC inquiry, said the long-running dispute had “always been about consumer choice, and allowing competition between the makers of mobile wallets”.
“Apple is not a bank or a credit card scheme, and Apple cannot on their own complete a mobile payment,” Mr Blockley said.
“Nor are the applicants manufacturers of mobile phones — both parties need each other to bring strong mobile payment offerings to the market.”
Apple Pay is currently offered in Australia by ANZ, American Express and a string of smaller banks and Apple says Australians already have the highest rate of transactions per month.
Lance Blockley, a spokesman for the banks opposing Apple in the ACCC inquiry, said the long-running dispute had “always been about consumer choice, and allowing competition between the makers of mobile wallets”.
“Apple is not a bank or a credit card scheme, and Apple cannot on their own complete a mobile payment,” Mr Blockley said.
“Nor are the applicants manufacturers of mobile phones — both parties need each other to bring strong mobile payment offerings to the market.”
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