Overnight on the quarterly earnings call about how well Apple is doing, CEO Tim Cook was asked to comment on an intriguing announcement for Aussies – American Express is bringing Apple Pay to Australia!
This is the first time Australia has been mentioned with regards to Apple Pay and it’s about bloody time.
Australians have the highest adoption of tap-and-go technology per capita in the world – we love it! So Apple Pay right from the get-go is perfect for this market.
The reason Apple Pay was such a phenomenally big announcement in the US over a year ago is that the US was still doing signatures for payments, heck they are still writing cheques.
Not so in Australia, the payment terminals already exist at hundreds of thousands of merchants across the country.
So what’s stopping it? The Banks. It’s not a technology issue, it’s the Banks and Apple sitting around a table shaking hands on who gets a slice of the percentage of a few cents every time I buy a Coke and Chocolate.
Because Australians love tap and go so much, the banks already love the revenue it brings them. In the US the banks were queued up for Apple Pay because they knew it would improve their access to customers and transaction fees.
Well, AMEX have broken ranks, and announced Apple Pay to Canada and Australia “this year”
Ok, so that’s not a solid date, but I think I’ll be doing my Christmas shopping with my iPhone.
Your move banks. What the heck are you waiting for? Personally, I’m prepared to switch my normal bank accounts to the first bank to introduce Apple Pay. Pressure’s on you St George because that means I’m taking my business elsewhere – unless you announce Apple Pay first? 🙂
