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Apple Pay Launches in Australia for American Express Cardholders
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Pretty much any coffee shop in Sydney CBD accepts Amex.
I have never had anything at McCafe, but it seems you know a lot about it. Feel free to share your thoughts
In some US States, it's illegal to impose a surcharge on a credit card. Even then, most places don't impose a surcharge on any credit card at all.
Not to mention most places DO take AMEX cards, but I'm sure you don't pay attention to the window decals on every shop you visit.
While I agree it's unfortunate that it's the worst of restaurants that will be accepting it first, you need to think of this from their perspective before blaming Apple.
They operate under a model that hoists convenience as a top priority. The U.S. may be different, but here in Canada, almost all locations for fast food places accept tap-to-pay. Fast food joints know that convenience and accessibility play a big part in a consumer's buying behaviour when they're hungry, so to jump on a new technology such as Apple Pay is a great move for them. Not only will it make it easier for people to get their food and go (wait time pending), but they are also capitalizing on the newness and know people will want to go somewhere to use their new feature.
I may be giving them a little too much credit, but I could also be spot on.
It's a very different situation in Australia whereby the big 4 banks are very much in tune with each other in terms of strategies. They will not budge. Plus I don't think there's that much demand from consumers except for people on here because as stated by many people, contactless payment has been in place for so long and people have already been using it without any issues. Heck the new NFC card that I got works so fast that I seriously doubt the outdated NFC chip on the iPhone can be any faster.
Also it's logical for the banks not to budge because the transaction fee in Australia is not as high as other places like the US. The banks have no incentive to give that share to Apple. I think it's Apple's fault to want to double dip from both banks (transaction fees) and consumers (buying new iPhone).
I love living in America. lol
The continent? Yeah, me too! ;-)
Well, Apple does bring much higher level of security! But I guess the banks don't care about ordinary people's benefits that much. Personally I love Apple Pay so much, because it safer and more private.If it can happen in the UK it can happen anywhere
Pretty sure we're talking about all different countries here, including America. Good bye!
Sure there is. I'm infinitely less likely to lose my wallet than it is likely for adhesive to fail stuck to the back of a phone. I fear you missed what I was getting at. I'm not worried about someone yanking the NFC info by being near me. It's that I know that something adhered to my phone is very likely to come off and be lost at some point. Particularly when it sits in a warm pant pocket all day.
I don't pay more for using it!! I pay the price plus any applicable tax and that's it. Are you suggesting otherwise? The card companies (amex, visa, etc.) continue to charge merchants what they would charge if you pulled out the plastic.
Lol I'm the exact opposite. I worry about constantly misplacing my cards. I barely, if ever, use a wallet. Sometimes the cards are left in the car, at home, wife's bag. Whereas my phone is always on me and I can feel if is not on me. I dropped a card in the street and didn't know it. I've never done that with my phone.
Btw, I've had the NFC chip on my phone for 1.5years and it is as solid as a rock on my phone. It is not a small thin "sticker". You need to actually see one before passing judgement.
Also you can get it replaced free of charge whenever you request.
I do hope you don't work in retail. All vendors need customers. If they take a view that they are more important than the customer and make that clear to the customer then the wont be in business for long. the Soup Nazi was a fictional character in a TV show - a real business acting like that wouldn't last long.
Couple of things. I have no idea what a skinny soy chai latte is. Did you put that in to make some condescending comment about me? The actual conversation would go "Do you take Amex? No - ok I will pay cash then thanks". I would probably not go back - end of story. If it went like you describe - not only would I not go back I would make sure people knew what poor customer service they had.
I have put some responses in bold below.
- Lots of local branches in Australia where you can walk in and get awesome service? Nope, none at all. Umm no - http://www.americanexpress.com/au/content/foreign-exchange/branches.html - you can go into those locations to collect replacement cards which can be ssued nin 24 hours rather than waiting four days for visa to send one through
- Cheaper access fees and interest rates? No. It would be good if you could provide comparison rates
- Accepted at more places than Visa/Mastercard? No. Agreed - is that an issue for me? Not really
- Easier to use when you travel? Absolutely not. Having spent six travelling internationally (400 flights in six years) on an almost monthly basis I never had any trouble using Amex
- Massive credit limit with exorbitant interest rates + fees? Sure... great feature feature if you wanna buy lotsa stuff you can't afford on pure credit. Actually the Platinum charge card (and gold and green as well) have no credit limit meaning that if you are travelling and need emergency assistance you can pay on Amex and sort it out later without question. Through into that membership rewards points - which earned me enough points to flight me and my wife business class to Europe from Australia. Then add in the concierge service that allowed to get exactly the date and time at a restaurant for my anniversary when I had been trying to get any table for six months. Also tickets to teh Theatre that werent available online. But hey I guess if you don't actually use Amex you probably don't know about the benefits and are just spouting crap.
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I'm quite familiar with NFC chips (yes, I've even seen the stick-on kind) and never used the term "sticker" in anything I've said here. I will just agree to disagree. For me, it's not something I'd be interested in sticking to my phone. For it to be strong enough for me to believe it will stay on, it would be near impossible to remove when I sell or trade my phone. For it to be removable, I still say in the 100+ degree heat we frequently encounter in my neck of the woods, it would often be in danger of coming off on its own while jostling around in my pocket all day.
Lol 100 degrees. I live in the Australian outback. 100 is a cool day.
Day two with Apple Pay and when it is accepted it is magic. No more pulling out my wallet. Paying for my beer at the pub with my wrist? What a time to be alive.
Only place I've encountered yet not to accept AMEX is Aldi for some reason.
Only place I've encountered yet not to accept AMEX is Aldi for some reason.
They have bathrooms in the aisles at KMart in PA? No wonder you love living in America!
Ha. Nice connection you made there. I'm sure someone sh@t in an aisle in your country at some point as well.
I envy your contactless acceptance. I think Pay is more of a big deal in the States because contactless never really took off prior.