Commonwealth Bank customers with iPhones can now pay through the CommBank mobile app using a sticker containing near field communications (NFC) technology.
The update brings the iPhone app up to speed with Android and Windows 8 platforms, which received the update in December.
Customers can make contactless mobile payments of up to $100. To make the payment, CommBank customers must attach a $2.99 sticker called a PayTag to the back of their mobile phone. The transaction is made when the user taps the sticker against a contactless payment terminal.
The ability to pay without a sticker, using an NFC chip embedded within the smartphone itself, remains exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy S4. While other Android, Windows and BlackBerry phones have NFC chips, they are not yet supported by the CommBank app. Existing models of the iPhone do not contain NFC chips and require stickers for this functionality.
"Our mobile customers can now leave their wallet at home and use their phone to pay for everyday items from a morning coffee, to groceries; while our mobile banking innovations make checking a balance, or paying a bill or a friend, simpler and faster,” Lisa Frazier, CommBank executive general manager of digital channels, said in a statement.
Coles has also announced a trial of mobile payments using stickers. Westpac has said it plans to roll out mobile payments using embedded smartphone NFC chips this year.
Smaller Australian players with mobile payment trials include Bendigo Bank and bankmecu.
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