Apple Pay finds it tough persuading Aussie banks

Sydney

APPLE Inc is struggling to persuade Australia's big banks to sign up for its Apple Pay mobile payment system, people familiar with the matter say, as the technology giant works from an unfamiliar negotiating position: weakness, not strength.

Apple rolled out the service in Australia last month with support for payment cards issued directly by American Express Co. The move is part of the iPhone supplier's global drive to extend its mobile consumer electronics prowess into financial services, with a China launch expected soon.

But the firm has yet to strike a deal with any of the four main banks - ANZ, National Australia Bank (NAB), Commonwealth Bank, and Westpac. That sets it adrift from 80 per cent of consumers using mobile payments systems linked to other credit cards in a market that Westpac sees as being worth more than US$2 billion this year. "The banks here feel like they've done the hard work in bringing contactless p…