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Australia's Retailers Join the Local Giant Banks in Their Battle With Apple Pay (nfcworld.com)
More trouble for Apple in Down Under. The $300 billion retail sector has hit back at Apple, saying the global tech giant is trying to freeload on the payments infrastructure built by banks and retailers and restricting iPhone access to payments terminals will hinder loyalty schemes. From a report: The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has come out in support of the group of four Australian banks seeking stronger negotiation powers with Apple over the introduction of Apple Pay in the country, saying they believe access to the NFC functionality in the iPhone would allow retailers to provide "a richer and more convenient customer experience." The ARA, which represents 5,000 independent and national retailers, says access to the NFC functionality will allow retailers to "develop or participate in mobile wallets that provided a consistent and fully integrated experience to all users regardless of their choice of smartphones" while also allowing loyalty programs, coupons and rewards to be "more effectively integrated into these mobile wallets." "In our view -- for as long as Apple Pay remains the only app that can use the iPhone's NFC functionality -- the potential for innovation in mobile wallets and mobile payments will be limited," the ARA says in a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Even though I'm giving up on the Apple Watch and computers I do find the Apple Pay to be pretty convenient.
Considering the time delay on the new chip cards its much faster and I don't have to fake a signature anymore.
Agreed. Apple pay is ridiculously easy and convenient. Works every time and it couldn't be easier. What's more nobody can surf over my shoulder for my pin and the retailer never sees my cc number or even my name.
The retailers have shown time and time again that they are incapable (or unwilling) to secure CC data. Why give them yet another opportunity to cock things up?
>" they believe access to the NFC functionality in the iPhone would allow retailers to provide "a richer and more convenient customer experience."
Translation:
"We are upset that Apple might not share customer identity and other information with us because we want it. We have a right to track our customers and what they buy and who they are and etc."
Um yeah. I will still probably just use cash, thanks.
If Apple wants Banks to cooperate by opening their payment network to iPhones , Apple must open up the iPhone NFC to mobile wallets from Banks. A competition commission cannot say its anti-competitive for incumbents to block Apple Pay but its not anti-competitive for Apple to not allow access to the NFC chip in an iPhone.
Apple's system explicitly collects NO extraneous information on transactions. Banks hate this as they had seen mobile device transactions as a chance to collect a lot of valuable data. Sellers also hoped to build added piles of marketing data that Apple Pay won't provide because its design simply does not have access to it..
Kevin Oberman, Network Engineer, Retired