NFC Times Exclusive Insight – Google has announced it will expand Android Pay in the contactless payments hotspot of Australia during the first half of 2016 with at least two of the big four banks among other issuers planning to participate, while Apple had to make do with only one issuer, American Express, for its Apple Pay launch in the country.
Android-based smartphones account for around 55% of handsets in Australia compared with 38% for iPhones, according to Kantar Group. But the main reason Australian banks have agreed to work with Google rather than with Apple for now is that Apple wants to take a cut of their transaction revenue, sources have told NFC Times, while Google does not.
Google said banks it has recruited in Australia–where more than 60% of in-store payment card transactions are contactless–include Westpac and ANZ, both part of the big four in Australia. Other issuers that have signed up are Bank of Melbourne, Bank of South Australia, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Cuscal, ING Direct, Macquarie Bank, and St. George. Cuscal mainly serves credit unions with payments solutions, but also works with ING Direct and Bendigo Bank.
