Exclusive: Android Pay is one of the more exciting launches coming up this year. Google will begin trialling Android Pay in Australia this week, and since we dropped that bombshell one of the more popular questions we’ve been asked has been ‘Will my bank be supported on Android Pay’? This morning we’re actually able to give you as close to a definitive answer as we can.
Based on documents we’ve seen, the list of banks on board is fairly comprehensive unlike the launch of Samsung Pay, or even Apple Pay in Australia.
At launch, if the list is complete (which we believe it to be), then it’s not all good news, with only one of the ‘Big Four’ Australian banks – ANZ – on board for the launch in Australia.
Missing from the big four list is of course the Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank, but also Westpac, who was announced as a partner when Google announced Android Pay was coming to Australia last year.
Each of the big four banks have their own Tap & Pay solution in place, though they’re far from compatible with every Android phone running Android 4.4+ – the required version of Android to run the Android Pay app.
As well as Westpac, there’s also some other players who were announced missing from the list including St George, Bank SA and Bank of Melbourne, though these could be merely not quite ready for launch just yet, as bigger names they may have differnt deals in place.
But, without further ado, the list of banks that will be supporting Android Pay at launch includes:
- ANZ (Visa, Credit & Debit)
- AmEx (Cards issued by AMEX)
- Macquarie (Visa / MC, Credit / Debit)
- Bendigo Bank (Visa / MC, Credit / Debit)
- ING (Visa / MC, Credit / Debit)
- Bank Australia
- Bank of Sydney
- Beyond Bank Australia
- Big Sky Building Society
- CAPE Credit Union
- Central West Credit Union
- Community Alliance Credit Union
- Community First Credit Union
- Credit Union Australia
- Credit Union SA
- Defence Bank
- EECU Ltd
- ENCOMPASS Ltd
- Family First
- First Option
- Goldfields Money
- Goldburn Murray Co-Op
- Holiday Coast
- Horizon
- Intech
- Maritime, Mining & Power
- MyState Bank
- Northern Beaches
- Northern Inland
- People’s Choice Credit Union
- Police Bank
- Police Credit Union
- QT Mutual
- Queenslanders
- Select Mutual
- South West Co-Op
- South West Slopes
- Sydney CU
- Teachers Mutual Bank
- The Mac
- Warwick CU
- WAW CU
- Woolworths Employees’ CU
- Wyong Shire
- Laboratories CU
- People’s Choice CU
ANZ has become somewhat of a champion of Tap & Pay banking in Australia, supporting their own Tap & Pay solution as well as Apple Pay and now Android Pay. They haven’t however jumped on board with Samsung Pay as yet, but who knows what the future will bring.
The ubiquity of Android Pay across essentially any phone running Android 4.4+ with an NFC chip in it certainly has more benefits than being locked into a platform like Samsung (or Apple) which requires their hardware.
Current numbers show that 77% of devices running Google Android are running the required version of Android, though thanks to low-end devices eschewing NFC chips, not all those devices will be able to use Android Pay.
We’re hoping that Android Pay is still on track for a H1 release, meaning we could possibly see it in time for the start of July. But, we’d prefer working with no bugs that a rushed release thanks Google. If your bank isn’t on the list above, like all consumer options, it might be time to vote with your wallet and see what other options are out there.
