Macquarie, ING Join Apple Pay in Australia in Challenge to Big Four

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) mobile payment service will be used by Macquarie Group and ING Direct in Australia this month, as they hope to snatch market share from the major retail banks through digital technology. So far only one of the major banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, has adopted the Apple Pay system, creating an opportunity for smaller rivals in a market dominated by the so-called Big Four lenders.
As quoted in the press release:

ING Direct and Macquarie have well-known brand names and national reach, giving them a potential leg up over similar-sized regional rivals like Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland in attracting retail banking and mortgage customers with technology.
“In the context of the Big Four, it feels like the sector is ripe for disruption,” Dominic Walsh, a managing director of branding firm Landor Associates, told Reuters.

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