Australian banks have been denied permission to act as a monopolistic cartel in the country, Reuters reports. Banks in the country have been resisting the adoption of Apple Pay, saying that it insures hefty fees and no user control.
Apple says Australian banks are creating an anti-competitive environment by not allowing payment services such as Apple Pay into the country. The banks are demanding Apple to open up the iPhone’s NFC chip to third-party developers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission provided an interim judgment, and plays a small role in the final decision that is expected to be made in October. The committee ruled that the Apple Pay is far too complicated to make a quick ruling.
Unfortunately, for Australian consumers, this most likely means that no change will be made until the final decision is made. At the earliest, we’d expect Apple Pay rollout in Australia in November, but even then that’s unlikely.
