NAB to launch digital credit card
NAB customers will no longer need to pay on plastic to access their credit.
National Australia Bank (NAB) customers will soon be able to use their credit cards before they've even received their new card with the launch of a new "digital wallet". Cardholders will be able to use their smartphones to make contactless payments of less than $100.
As part of their mobile banking revamp, the organisation will soon launch an app that will involve customers signing a "digital contract" when they apply for a new card. Customers can then upload their card details to a smartphone and use it to make contactless payments. While most banks offer mobile contactless payments through internal apps or third-party apps such as Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay, NAB is the first to allow cardholders to make cardless payments before their card has arrived in the mail.
Like the other big four, the NAB digital wallet will be available through the app on Android phones. Meanwhile, iPhone users will need to attach a tag to their phone if they wish to make tap-and-go payments because of the banks' long war over access with Apple and its payment platforms.
This is just the latest of many digital payments innovations to launch in Australia over the last few years. Sixty per cent of all card payments were made using contactless technology last year and reports have stated Australia leads the "tap and go" trend in the world. While mobile contactless payments are less popular than card contactless payments in Australia, the launch of convenient technologies such as NAB's digital wallet could see that change in the coming months.
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