What is ANZ Doing With Apple Pay?
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group [ASX:ANZ] (ANZ) yesterday announced 250,000 of their customers were using Apple Pay, the payment system developed by Apple Inc. [NASDAQ:AAPL] for their iPhone.
Why Apple Pay a Big Deal?
Is it really a big deal? Well, yes and no. It’s a big deal for Australia because of the lag in the adoption of this technology.
The fact is that Apple Pay and Android Pay have both been in operation in other countries around the world for a couple of years now. Its initial release in the US was in October 2014. But there’s been scepticism about its benefit for customers in Australia, and the ‘Big Four’ banks have been slow to adopt this new payment technology.
What Now for Electronic Payment Systems?
The banks are as protective of their customers as any company in the world. The banks want you to use all their products and services, including payment cards and payment platforms. The problem is companies like Apple and Alphabet Inc. [NASDAQ:GOOG] are also vicious in keeping users on their platforms.
In this battle, the Big Four banks don’t stand a chance. They simply can’t provide the user experience that Google or Apple can provide. Apply Pay and Android Pay will completely dominate payments all over the world. In fact, they could be the downfall of the physical payment card altogether. ANZ was a first mover in using Apple Pay. Expect all the others to follow in adopting Apple and Android payment systems.
Personally I use Android Pay over here in the UK. It’s brilliant. I can go to the local shops and all I need to take with me is my phone. Thanks to it also having fingerprint security, the only person who can use my payment card (through Android Pay) is me (or whoever cuts off one of my fingers…).
Make no mistake, tech companies are looking to take customers away from banks. The likes of Apple and Alphabet are likely to even become their own banks in the future. This is just the beginning — and just a tiny glimpse into what the future of banking will look like.
Regards,
Sam
From the Port Phillip Publishing Library
Special Report: Central banks are losing control. Their efforts to prop up asset markets are failing. We’re now entering the endgame. What will the endgame look like? What are the short and long term investment implications? And how can you navigate this period of hyper central banking intervention…and emerge from the other side with a healthy portfolio? Vern Gowdie is one of the few minds in Australia with clear answers to these questions…[more]