Apple Pay integration the result of social media pressure: ANZ CEO
ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott has revealed the motivation behind launching ANZ Apple Pay was the pressure he received from customers.
With 69 percent of ANZ customers using an iPhone, Elliott said at the launch of ANZ Apple Pay in Sydney on Thursday that he wants to serve his existing customers better and allow them to pay the way they are asking to.
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"The reason we are here is I was sick of being hounded on Twitter and email by customers saying, 'When are you going to get Apple Pay?'," Elliott said.
"That was sort of a joke, but actually it's real, it's true, we're here today because customers want this.
"As a customer-focused bank who believes in innovation and the absolute digital way we've got to be, this just seemed like such a natural thing for us to be doing."
ANZ managing director for products & marketing Matt Boss said he expects to gain customers from the launch of ANZ Apple Pay, basing this on the reaction ANZ has received on Twitter since the announcement was made less than six hours ago.
"We can offer something to customers other banks can't," Boss said.
"We absolutely think people will become ANZ customers as part of this, if you do a search on Twitter you'll see lots of people commenting. [People are] saying they're willing to move to a bank that supports this and that's absolutely what we expect to happen and we expect it to happen in hopefully very large numbers."
The bank said Apple Pay is just one example of the announcements around digital it expects to make in the near future on its journey to become the biggest digital bank in the country, with Android Pay capabilities slated for sometime this year.
ANZ announced Thursday morning it was the first major bank in Australia to integrate the iPhone maker's contactless payment platform.
Elliott said the company is confident that being the first major Australian bank to offer Apple Pay will bring added convenience, security, and privacy to customers.
"The introduction of Apple Pay is a significant milestone in our strategy to use digital technology to provide our customers with a superior experience and will be a watershed moment in the adoption of mobile payments in Australia," he said.
Apple Pay was launched in Australia in November, with American Express the only financial institution partner joining the iPhone maker's near-field communication payments solution until now.