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Four Australian banks seek Apple tech for mobile transactions, Apple says no

A group of four banks in Australia want customers to be able to use the banks' own mobile apps when conducting financial transactions with Apple Pay, according to The Register.

The banks are attempting to join together as a bloc to petition the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in their effort to be given access to the wireless payment parts, particularly the NFC chips, embedded in iPhones. This could net them a percentage of the fees Apple takes from each transaction carried out via Apple Pay.

But in a letter posted by the ACCC, Apple argued that providing access to the NFC chips used in its iPhones would harm consumers by jeopardizing security. "Providing simple access to the NFC antenna by banking applications would fundamentally diminish the high level of security Apple aims to have on our devices,” Apple wrote.

A draft decision is due shortly.

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