PHOTO: Apple Pay and Google Pay have provided a major shake-up to the way people pay.(Reuters: Dado Ruvic/ Illustration)
A decade ago, the very idea seemed inconceivable, laughable even.
How could one company threaten the global banking system and revolutionise the way we, as consumers, deal with our cash and run our lives?
But when Apple launched its iPhone in 2007, just a few months before the global financial system cratered, it unwittingly unleashed a device that ultimately would pose a greater challenge to traditional banking than the three-year seizure of global finance that crippled the global economy.
And it’s a rapid evolution, from a music and communications platform to an integrated super-computer with pinpoint location accuracy, cameras and a range of applications that connect users with work, home and services, including government. It has transformed from an accessory into an item essential for everyday life.
Just like money, really. So, it was only a matter of time before the two collided when Apple and later Google launched tap and go payments systems. And once they did, there was no walking back.
Phones and digital wallets are replacing plastic as a means of payment at an alarming rate, eroding the power and reach of banks.
Five years ago, ANZ struck a deal with Apple to allow its customers to access its services through Apple Pay, a move that sent shivers through the industry. The three other majors joined forces and launched action through the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission, pleading for permission to work together to screw a better deal from the tech giant.
The competition regulator kyboshed the idea and the other three begrudgingly signed up to Apple’s payment system, all the while fretting that the tech giant would never allow their own apps to work as efficiently as Apple Pay.
The skirmishes since have given way to a series of battles that now threaten to erupt into war.
READ MORE VIA ABC