ANZ Mastercard Apple Pay Android Pay
A woman looks at her iPhone as she walks past a sign announcing a new branch of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) in central Sydney, Australia, April 27, 2016. Reuters/David Gray

Customers of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group can now use their ANZ MasterCard credit card to pay for online purchases through Android Pay or Apple Pay.

While other major Australian banks resist on using third-party mobile payment applications, the ANZ Bank has embraced the two online wallet systems and even extended the coverage to include MasterCard users.

Initially, Apple Pay and Android Pay are only available to ANZ customers with a Visa debit or credit card or an American Express credit card. By including MasterCard, ANZ Bank has extended the coverage to over 500,000 ANZ MasterCard credit card holders.

“Over half a million people have MasterCard with us, it’s really just our credit card base – its important to broaden the people who are eligible to use it," said Matt Boss, ANZ’s managing director of products and marketing.

ANZ has launched its partnership with Apple Pay five months ago. And so far, Boss hints at “pretty good uptake and usage.”

“It is going really really well. Within about the first 3 months of having Apple Pay, roughly more than 20 percent of eligible customers have loaded their cards into Apple Pay,” he explained.

In using either Apple Pay or Android Pay, the customer’s card number won’t be shared with the merchant or stored in their mobile phones. According to ANZ, customers need to key in a personal identification number at the terminal for payments exceeding $100. Customers of Apple Pay also need to use the biometric security feature of iPhone’s Touch ID.

Earlier, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) denied the request of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corporation, National Australia Bank, and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank for an interim authorisation to force Apple to open iPhone's near field communication (NFC) antenna to enable contactless payments to be made through their respective digital wallets. (Read more: Apple Pay in Australia: ACCC denies big banks authority to bargain with Apple)

The ANZ was reportedly part of the group but later on decided to withdraw. Now, it offers customers with an alternative. “You won't find Apple Pay at the other big banks, so apply for your eligible ANZ card,” the bank's website reads.

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