Apple Pay expands to more than 30 Australian banks from today

Today Apple Pay has become available at more than 30 banks and credit unions across Australia so customers can use their iPhone and Apple Watch to make secure payments on the go.

Apple recently made an agreement with payment solutions partner Cuscal which had Apple Pay accessible to customers from 31 smaller banks and financial institutions.

From today you can start using Apple Pay if you’re a customer with places like Sydney Credit Union, Teachers Mutual Bank and Australian Unity.

But if you’re a customer with larger banks like the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank, you still have to play the waiting game.

They are locked in a battle with Apple and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to gain access to the NFC (near field communication) chip in the iPhones and Apple Watches.

Naturally, Apple has refused this request because the company believes it would compromise the security of its devices.

The whole idea of Apple Pay is to create a secure transaction but yet not sharing the credit card details with the merchant.

It is believed the banks also want the cost of using Apple Pay to be passed on to the customer – another demand Apple has refused and currently does not allow with its payment partners.

Apple Pay is also available to ANZ Bank and American Express customers.

The 31 banks and financial institutions which will start rolling out Apple Pay from today are:

– Bank Australia

– Bank of Sydney

– Beyond Bank Australia

– Big Sky Building Society

– Australian Unity

– CAPE Credit Union

– Central West Credit Union

– Illawarra Credit Union

– Catalyst Money

– Community First Credit Union

– Northern Beaches Credit Union

– Credit Union Australia (CUA)

– Credit Union SA

– Defence Bank

– EECU

– First Option Credit Union

– Goldfields Money

– Goulburn Murray Credit Union Co-Op

– Holiday Coast Credit Union

– Horizon Credit Union

– Intech Credit Union

– Laboratories Credit Union

– My State Bank

– The Rock

– Northern Inland Credit Union

– People’s Choice Credit Union

– Police Bank

– Customs Bank

– QT Mutual Bank

– Select Encompass Credit Union

– South West Slopes Credit Union

– Sydney Credit Union

– Teachers Mutual Bank

– UniBank

– The Mac (Macarthur Credit Union)

– Warwick Credit Union

– Woolworths Employees’ Credit Union