Tough Apple Pay deal raises question on costs to consumers

THE negotiating tensions behind Apple Inc and Singapore banks in deciding on fees for Apple Pay, as reported by The Business Times this month, show who is the giant among giants in the payments game - as competition revs up in this space. How all of these will impact business and consumer costs in time is one to watch.

Apple is expected to collect roughly S$10 million from Singapore banks and financial institutions here that now offer Apple Pay to customers, BT has learnt.

Sources said Apple charged banks and financial institutions between S$2 million and S$5 million each for what it called a "marketing fee" to support Apple Pay branding.