National Australia Bank (NAB) has launched a mobile payment service called NAB Pay which will allow customers to use their Android phone to pay for items.
Customers with an Android device and a NAB Visa debit card can start using the service from today.
The bank will be the first in Australia to use the Visa token service said NAB executive general manager for consumer lending, Angus Gilfillan, said
Tokenisation replaces a customer’s credit card number with a digital token that can be used for digital payments, without revealing account information.
“Tokenisation improves protection for customers because physical card details are never used in the payments process, reducing the risk of fraud,” Gilfillan said.
In 2015, NAB announced a 10-year strategic partnership with Visa to collaborate on payments innovation and product development for customers.
“We have a number of exciting initiatives planned this year and look forward to extending the NAB Pay application to support NAB credit cards in coming months,” Gilfillan said.
Apple last year brought its mobile wallet offering, Apple Pay to Australia; however, the NFC-based service is only available for American Express customers.
The Commonwealth Bank last year expanded the list of Android handsets compatible with its contactless payments service.
ANZ launched a mobile wallet in New Zealand but it is yet to make its way to Australia.
Westpac supports mobile payments on a range of Samsung smartphones.
Google's digital wallet, Android Pay, is due to reach Australia this year.
Banks supporting the rollout will include ANZ, Westpac, the Bank of
Melbourne, the Bank of South Australia, Bendigo Bank, Cuscal, ING
Direct, Macquarie Bank, and St George.