Which banks will offer Android Pay in Australia?
Android Pay is launching in Australia this year, but will it be available through your bank?
Google has announced that it will begin trialling Android Pay in Australia this week. Selected customers in Australia's capital cities will have early access to Android Pay and will be asked to test it at retailers in the area.
Google announced last year that Android Pay would be launched in the first half of 2016. Android Pay on any phone running Android 4.4+ with an NFC chip.
According to Ausdroid, Android Pay is due to be available this week with a much more comprehensive list of financial institutions than its competitors Samsung Pay and Apple Pay. The banks that are expected to offer Apple Pay include:
| ANZ (Visa, Credit & Debit) | ENCOMPASS Ltd | MyState Bank | South West Slopes |
| American Express (Cards issued by AMEX) | Family First | Northern Beaches | Sydney CU |
| Bendigo Bank (Visa / MC, Credit / Debit) | First Option | Northern Inland | Teachers Mutual Bank |
| Central West Credit Union | Goldfields Money | People’s Choice Credit Union | The Mac |
| Community Alliance Credit Union | Goulburn Murray Co-Op | Police Bank | Warwick CU |
| Community First Credit Union | Holiday Coast | Police Credit Union | WAW CU |
| Credit Union Australia | Horizon | QT Mutual | Woolworths Employees’ CU |
| Credit Union SA | Intech | Queenslanders | Wyong Shire |
| Defence Bank | Macquarie (Visa / MC, Credit / Debit) | Select Mutual | Laboratories CU |
| Nexus Mutual | Maritime, Mining & Power | South West Co-Op | People’s Choice CU |
Missing from the list are Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac. Google did name Westpac as an Android Pay partner in its initial announcement, so it might indeed be confirmed as a supporting bank by the time of the launch. That would also affect St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne. Their absence from the list could mean that they will eventually partner with Android Pay, but may not be ready to do so in time for the launch. Regardless, this list is much more extensive than Samsung Pay's launch with American Express and Citi last week and Apple Pay's launch with American Express, after which it also became available with ANZ, late last year.
As Australians are frequent users of contactless payments, with more than 70% of payments being made with contactless systems, it's only a matter of time before more of the banks jump onto mobile payment alternatives.
Picture: Android.
