Australia's Commonwealth Bank Now Supports Apple Pay

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) today implemented support for Apple Pay, making it the second of Australia's "Big Four" banks to offer the payments service. CBA is the biggest retail bank in Australia and was a notable ‌Apple Pay‌ holdout.

Multiple MacRumors readers in Australia have reported being able to add their Commonwealth Bank cards to ‌Apple Pay‌, and Commonwealth Bank is listed as a partner on Apple's Apple Pay site in Australia.

commonwealth bank apple pay
Commonwealth Bank first announced plans to support ‌Apple Pay‌ last month, giving in to consumer demand after a years-long dispute with Apple over fees and access to the NFC chips in iPhones.

When announcing ‌Apple Pay‌ support, Commonwealth Bank Group Executive of Retail Banking services Angus Sullivan said that the bank had heard many requests from customers asking for ‌Apple Pay‌, leading to its implementation.

"We are committed to making changes that benefit our customers and simplify our business. We will continue to look for more opportunities to innovate and listen, to ensure our customers get the best experience when they bank with us. Responding to customer demand for Apple Pay underscores our commitment to becoming a better, simpler bank.

Commonwealth Bank, along with NAB and Westpac, tried to collectively bargain with Apple to attempt to force Apple to open up the iPhone's NFC capabilities to support other digital wallets, like those offered by the banks themselves.

Apple said that this would be harmful to consumers and would stifle innovation, a position that Australian regulators agreed with when denying the banks authorization for collective bargaining.


ANZ was the only one of the four major banks in Australia to support ‌Apple Pay‌ when it launched in the country in April 2016. Other smaller banks later implemented support, but Commonwealth, NAB, and Westpac continued to hold out amid negotiations.

It's not clear if NAB and Westpac will implement support now that Commonwealth Bank has done so.

Bankwest in Australia is also now supporting ‌Apple Pay‌, along with ASB Bank Limited in New Zealand and Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Canada. Multiple smaller banks in the U.S. have implemented ‌Apple Pay‌ support as well, with a full list available on Apple's website.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

iOS 26

When Will Apple Release iOS 26.2?

Monday December 1, 2025 4:37 pm PST by
We're getting closer to the launch of the final major iOS update of the year, with Apple set to release iOS 26.2 in December. We've had three betas so far and are expecting a fourth beta or a release candidate this week, so a launch could follow as soon as next week. Past Launch Dates Apple's past iOS x.2 updates from the last few years have all happened right around the middle of the...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Sad Siri Feature

Apple AI Chief John Giannandrea Retiring After Siri Delays

Monday December 1, 2025 2:16 pm PST by
Apple AI chief John Giannandrea is stepping down from his position and retiring in spring 2026, Apple announced today. Giannandrea will serve as an advisor between now and 2026, with former Microsoft AI researcher Amar Subramanya set to take over as vice president of AI. Subramanya will report to Apple engineering chief Craig Federighi, and will lead Apple Foundation Models, ML research, and ...
Netflix Smaller 4

Netflix Kills Casting From Its Mobile App to Most Modern TVs

Monday December 1, 2025 4:36 am PST by
Netflix has quietly removed the ability to cast content from its mobile apps to most modern TVs and streaming devices, including newer Chromecast models and the Google TV Streamer. The change was first spotted by users on Reddit and confirmed in an updated Netflix support page (via Android Authority), which now states that the streaming service no longer supports casting from mobile devices...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
Touchscreen MacBook Feature

Here Are the Four MacBooks Apple Is Expected to Launch Next Year

Monday December 1, 2025 5:00 am PST by
2026 could be a bumper year for Apple's Mac lineup, with the company expected to announce as many as four separate MacBook launches. Rumors suggest Apple will court both ends of the consumer spectrum, with more affordable options for students and feature-rich premium lines for users that seek the highest specifications from a laptop. Below is a breakdown of what we're expecting over the next ...
iphone 17 cyber

iPhone 17 Demand Is Breaking Apple's Sales Records

Tuesday December 2, 2025 9:44 am PST by
Apple's iPhone 17 lineup is selling well enough that Apple is on track to ship more than 247.4 million total iPhones in 2025, according to a new report from IDC. Total 2025 shipments are forecast to grow 6.1 percent year over year due to iPhone 17 demand and increased sales in China, a major market for Apple. Overall worldwide smartphone shipments across Android and iOS are forecast to...
Cyber Week Deals 2025

Best Cyber Week Apple Deals Include Big Discounts on AirPods, Apple Watch, and More

Sunday November 30, 2025 7:33 am PST by
Cyber Week is here, and you can find popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more at all-time low prices. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Specifically,...
iOS 26

What to Expect From Apple This December: iOS 26.3 Beta, Replay 2025, and More

Monday December 1, 2025 8:40 am PST by
The calendar has turned to December, and the quieter year-end holiday season is now upon us. Nevertheless, we can still expect a few things from Apple this month. Apple previously announced that iOS 26.2 will be released to the general public in December, and we can expect corresponding updates to be released as well, including iPadOS 26.2, macOS 26.2, watchOS 26.2, tvOS 26.2, and visionOS...
studio display purple february

M5 iPad Pro Could Hint at New Studio Display Feature

Sunday November 30, 2025 10:30 am PST by
The updated specs of the M5 iPad Pro may point toward a major new feature for Apple's next-generation Studio Display expected in early 2026. Apple's latest iPad Pro debuted last month and contains one display-related change that stands out: it can now drive external monitors at up to 120Hz with Adaptive Sync. The feature should deliver lower latency, smoother motion, and fewer visual...

Top Rated Comments

domneedscoffee Avatar
90 months ago
Can't believe it's nearly 3 years already since I moved to ANZ...
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
desmond2046 Avatar
90 months ago
Ironically, Apple Pay is much more widely supported in Australia than in the US, especially for small businesses, because most of the POS machines in Australia already support tap-and-pay.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JoshBoy Avatar
90 months ago
Westpac have lost 30% of their market cap over the last two years and is being investigated by the government for bad practice. Nope, I don’t think they are that great
All banks in Australia have lost market cap mainly due to regulation and capital requirements. They still are a dividend play like always, not a growth play.

Westpac still is the second largest by market cap in the country.

To lastly state they are getting investigated for bad practices is fake news. There is a royal commission taking place and from my view Westpac have come through far better than any of the other majors and the only major to retain their wealth arm of the big four.
[doublepost=1548207713][/doublepost]
Get real
You're seriously trying to compare the Australia, with a population of what, 25 million to the US's 325 million?
You could dump the entire population of Australia into four or five mid western states and you be hard press to find your cousin.

If Australia was state, it wouldn't even be the largest state by population, California has more people.

There is no irony here.

Only a much larger economy with a scale you failed to take into account.

Here is some background into US challenges:

UK’s Lessons For US Mobile Payments Adoption ('https://www.pymnts.com/nfc/2016/uk-lessons-for-us-mobile-payments-adoption/')
Here's an excerpt:

NOW FOR THE “BUT”

OK, you say, so all we need to do now is hustle up and get contactless POS terminals out there in massive force.

If it were only that easy.

In the U.S., there simply aren’t the same dynamics in play.

Two million contactless terminals today sounds like a great start — until you do the math. There are something like 13 million POS terminals across a massive geography that is the United States, not including mPOS devices.

The U.S. is also a market in which there are 1.2 billion payments cards in circulation, more than 47 billion debit card transactions, more than 26 billion credit card transactions and 209 million adults over the age of 18.

Oh, and something like 14k financial institutions that issue those cards and countless merchant acquirers and ISOs all hawking merchants to deploy new terminals.

It’s a whole lot harder to wrangle this ecosystem to the ground given the diversity of merchants and the engrained plastic card habits honed by consumers over the last 50 or so years.
I do love how much room we have to swing a cat (the one size is basically the same as the entire US) oh and we tend not to shoot each other too much.

Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Glasgowuk Avatar
90 months ago
Judging by their share price, they haven't missed you, Lol
[doublepost=1548199349][/doublepost]

"Incredibly stupid"? Have you seen their net worth!! You would dream to be that "incredibly stupid"!
Westpac have lost 30% of their market cap over the last two years and is being investigated by the government for bad practice. Nope, I don’t think they are that great
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Juiceboy Avatar
90 months ago
Australia had tap and go for years. It's incredible popular here. Most people don't even carry cash ever.
Vending machines, sushi joints everywhere accept contactless payments so apple pay is available everywhere. It's baffling that places like "wall-mart" or what ever the american stores are called don't accept apple pay for some observed reason.

What ever retailer has a POS terminal from the last 10 years that accept contactless, accepts apple pay by default.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JoshBoy Avatar
90 months ago
Swing cats? Nice deflection, however irrelevant.
Incidentally, plenty of room in the US to swing cats if that's your thing.
By the way nice pic, which is also irrelevant.

Another deflection.
You're on a roll.
Point did not pass me by, I just cringe when I read statements from Americans that feel they are the biggest and best in the world. Whilst we may only have circa $25m I say quality over quantity.

The other persons post you were attacking was just making the point that as a nation we have adopted to tech in this space far better than other locations. The same thing happened where we moved to 3G phones back in about 2000/2001 when the US were still trying to adopt Edge.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)