Australian banks call Apple’s NFC restriction 'completely baseless'

Apple’s claim that allowing access to the NFC technology within its iPhones would diminish the security of Apple Pay has been branded “completely baseless” by a group of four Australian banks, who are seeking greater powers of negotiation over the entry of third-party mobile wallets in the country. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac Bank submitted their request for negotiation to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in July, urging Apple to open access to the NFC technology within its handsets to let other mobile payment providers launch NFC mobile payment services on iPhone handsets.