Australian financial institutions, ME Bank and Heritage Bank have announced they will offer Apple Pay as a payment method to their customer. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group was the first of the big 4 banks in Australia to allow Apply Pay as a contactless payment option to its customers in 2016. It was followed later by Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank. Westpac Banking Corporation was the last one to give its customer access to Apple Pay transactions in April 2020.
As per a Roy Morgan report, 10.8% Australians now use mobile payment services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, which is up from 7.1% last year. Apple Pay is now used by 6.5% Australians, which is up from 4.1% as compared to the prior year [1]. Michele Levine, Roy Morgan CEO, says the pandemic has made personal hygiene the first priority for Australians and it has changed the way they pay for their goods and services.
ME & Heritage Bank on contactless payments
Craig Ralston, ME Bank executive for customer banking, said they are pleased to announce that all existing and new cardholders can now use Apple Pay for transactions. The statement issued by ME said that the access to Apple Payments comes at a time when the use of contactless payments continues to grow. Craig adds that the customers have been requesting for this addition and they are happy to be introducing at a time when there is a need for an alternative to cash.
Heritage Bank also described the availability of Apple for its customers as a safer, more secure and private method to make payments that will help avoid handing their card to others, exchanging money and touching buttons. Peter Lock, CEO of Heritage Bank, says they will continue to listen, innovate and learn and are thrilled about building on the goal of supporting their customers to make digital and contactless payments.
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How can ME & Heritage Bank customers use Apple Pay?
The service will be available in iPhone 6 and newer versions and Apple Watch Series 1 and newer versions. To use Apple Pay, the customer has to download the Apple Pay app and register their card. For carrying out transactions, any Heritage Bank and ME Bank debit or credit cards can be registered. To add a card:
- Open Apple Pay and tap the ‘+’ and sign in
- Follow the steps the app provides to add the card
- Verify identity by email or SMS using the code
To make a payment using Apple Pay, the customer needs to hold their Apple Watch or iPhone near a payment terminal of a merchant.
What makes Apple Pay more secure is that it does not store debit or credit card numbers on the device or on its server. It simply gives its customers an encrypted Device Account Number to make a payment that helps in reducing the risk of fraud.
Source
[1] Roy Morgan (2020) “Apple Pay drives contactless mobile payment increase; older Australians might need a nudge” [Online] Available from: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8408-digital-payment-solutions-march-2020-202005120625 [Accessed July 2020]
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