If you’re traveling to Australia in January, you might like this.
While Apple Pay adoption has been somewhat slow in Australia thanks to disagreements between Apple and major banks over access to the NFC chip in iPhones, a large obstacle was surmounted on Thursday. After much negotiation, Commonwealth Bank of Australia – or CommBank – announced that it will finally support Apple Pay.
Apple Pay has come to New Zealand.
The service launched in New Zealand on Wednesday, marking the 11th country where the service has come online.
Apple Pay in New Zealand is available through a partnership with ANZ bank, meaning it can only be used with Visa credit and debit cards issued by ANZ at this time. Some banks in Australia and New Zealand have been reluctant to accept Apple Pay due to the fee Apple collects.