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· Posted on
February 21, 2024

CommBank points the finger at Apple for being anti-competitive

Comm Bank is not happy with Apple but what has caused this rift?

What's the key learning?

  • If you operate the software, you have the power. It means that companies have to abide by your rules.
  • Software companies have the ability to pick and choose which organisations they work with and which organisations they want to exclude.
  • Apple has used this tactic before with gaming platforms, like Fortnite, when it charged high commissions.

IS CBA CALLING APPLE A BULLY?


CommBank’s CEO has given a good ol' fashioned whack to Apple’s tap-and-go payments system, Apple Pay, calling it anti-competitive.

CBA is a behemoth in Australia with nearly 16 million customers. But Apple is a GLOBAL behemoth - it has more than 1.65 billion active devices and has commercial deals with more than 9,000 banks globally.

The problem is Apple won’t allow banks to create their own digital wallet via their banking app - it must be done through Apple's digital wallet. That means Apple can take a slice of the transaction fees too. Kaaaa-ching.

So, what's the key learning?

The companies that own the operating system on your phone have the ultimate control in this world. For most people, they either use iOS (owned by Apple) or Android (owned by Google).

This means Apple and Google can choose what apps, payment systems and data can be transmitted. And they often use this power to exclude potential competitors.

Apple has done this previously with its App Store - by charging high commissions on apps and games (like Fortnite). And now, it has locked out banks and other payment providers from their digital wallet.

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