Westpac enables tap-to-pay for Samsung devices, but lack of NFC leaves iPhone in cold

Westpac will allow owners of some Samsung devices to make payments through their smartphones from next week, but says it won’t provide an equivalent service for iPhones until Apple integrates a payment technology. The capability, which the bank has been developing with Visa since December, will initially mean those who own the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be able to tap their smartphone on a compatible terminal from next week to make a payment. It will be available on the Samsung Galaxy S5 once it is released this month and will become available on its Note 3 device with a software update.