Australia's leading banks have come together to lodge a joint application with anti-trust regulators challenging Apple Pay service in the country on Monday. The banks want their own digital payment services for customers who own an iPhone.
The mobile payment and digital walletservice was rolled out in Australia in April earlier this year. Following suit, Samsung and Android Pay entered the market, but unlike these two services, Apple Pay offered its own digital pay services to the customers,which upset the country's major banks. Apple does not allows third party electronic payment applications to be installed on its handset.
Top three lenders NAB, CBA and Westpac Banking Corp have joined to negotiate with Apple Inc. to allow them to install their own electronic payment applications on the hugely popular device.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank have also filed an application to amicably negotiate with the tech giant regarding the application installation with the ACCC.
The content of the application reads:
"The applicants seek authorization on behalf of themselves and potentially other credit and debit card issuers to engage in limited collective negotiation with providers of third-party mobile wallet services on conditions relating to competition, best practice standards, and efficiency and transparency. The applicants also seek authorization to enter into a limited form of collective boycott in relation to a third-party mobile wallet provider while collective negotiations with that provider are ongoing."
Only ANZ, who is a partner of Apple, did not partake in the negotiations. There was no immediate response from the spokesperson of Apple Australia.
Asides from Australia, Apple Pay is available in the US, Britain, Canada, China and Singapore.