Paper-based Merchant Facilities
The ADF has been advised that CommBank branches will no longer be accepting manual transactions from paper-based merchant imprinters – colloquially known as “click clack machines”.
The first credit card imprinting machine is believed to have been developed in the 1930’s but the technology was first patented in 1977 by Richard B Feldman, three years after the introduction of Bankcard in Australia in 1974.
The ADF began phasing out paper-based merchants two years ago in response to the Payment Card Industry emphasis on securing access to credit card numbers, so almost all ADF customers will have already transitioned to CommBank EFTPOS terminals and BPOINT facilities.
Please contact the ADF if you need to transition to new merchant facilities as a result of these changes.
Apple Pay in Australia
Apple Pay launched in Australia on the 19th of November 2015 for American Express customers only, after Apple’s negotiations with the big Australian banks and VISA were unsuccessful. No doubt resulting from the Reserve Bank’s push to decrease interchange fees for credit cards, VISA is said to have banned Australian banks from sharing interchange fees with third parties, effectively locking Apple out of the market here. As American Express payments are not regulated, they can charge significantly higher fees than their regulated competitors, and this has allowed them to offer a portion of the merchant fee to Apple.
American Express transactions are said to make up around 19% of credit card transactions in Australia, and cardholders with American Express-issued cards can now add their AMEX cards to compatible iPhones and start making contactless payments with an iPhone or an Apple Watch.
ADF merchants with contactless CommBank merchant terminals (EFTPOS Mobile, Integrated and Albert Pi) with an attached American Express merchant facility can accept Apple Pay payments. If you do not have an American Express facility attached to your terminal but would like to accept Apple Pay payments, please contact the ADF for assistance.