HSBC customers can now use Apple Pay

Another major bank has joined the Apple Pay camp, with HSBC bringing its Visa and Mastercard credit card customers onto the contactless payment platform.

Graham Heunis, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, HSBC Australia, says, “Our customers have told us they want to be able to use Apple Pay in Australia, and we’re proud to be able to make this service available to them. HSBC has introduced Apple Pay in five other markets and we’re looking forward to another successful launch here.”

Credit card transactions are available now, and Heunis expects HSBC debit cards to also support Apple Pay in the coming weeks. Both credit and debit cards will continue to receive all included rewards and benefits when using Apple Pay.

With HSBC joining other banks and credit institutions in Australia supporting Apple Pay, only the 3 big banks including NAB, WestPac and CommBank have chosen to exclude their customers from making contactless transfers using Apple Pay.

Apple Pay transactions offer a secure alternative to contactless card transactions as they do not require the credit or debit card numbers to be stored on iPhones or Apple’s servers. As such, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in a specialised ‘secure element’ chip found iPhone 6, iPhone SE and newer models to keep transactions secure. Apple Pay is also supported by the Apple Watch.