"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," the company said in a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Four banks — the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Westpac, and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank — want to team up to collectively negotiate with Apple over access to the tech. But Apple is pushing back hard. "Unfortunately, and based on their limited understanding of the offering, the [banks] perceive Apple Pay as a competitive threat," the company says. "These banks want to maintain complete control over their customers. The present application is only the latest tactic employed by these competing banks to blunt Apple's entry into the Australian market." Apple also argues that the banks teaming up would constitute a "cartel," and be illegal under Australia's competition laws.