With Australia Launch, High Expectations for Android Pay

Android Pay has launched in Australia.

The service arrives in the country just about a month after the launch of rival Samsung Pay, and with less support than anticipated. While the service debuts with the support of 28 financial institutions, only one of the country’s four major banks—ANZ—is among them. Given that a December report had indicated that Android Pay would also be backed by Westpac Banking Corp., this appears to be a bit of a step back, through Google officials insist that more support is on the way.

Australia’s major banks seem to have been particularly recalcitrant in their opposition to the emerging mPayment platforms, but the country is nevertheless expected to be a hot market for the services, with a Frost & Sullivan analyst recently having predicted that mPayments will “take off in 12-18 months”. That bodes well for Android Pay and its rivals, even if most of the major banks are still dragging their feet with respect to support.

Also propitious is Apple Pay’s performance, with ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott telling the Financial Review, “After launching Apple Pay we saw a huge uplift in customer acquisition,” adding later, “we’ll see the same thing with Android Pay.”

Sources: Financial Review, Mobile World Live, TechCrunch