Several of the country's big banks are seeking to join forces and negotiate as a bloc with technology giant Apple, which could lead to a collective boycott of Apple Pay, in a bid to offer "digital wallets" on the iPhone.

Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and Bendigo Bank have this week applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, asking permission to negotiate as one with Apple.

Apple introduced the mobile payment system in Australia last year with American Express. ANZ Bank is the only big four bank so far that has signed on.

Their application also seeks permission to undertake a "limited form of collective boycott," in which the banks will agree not to negotiate with Apple individually while the collective talks are occurring.

In what the banks say is a world-first, they want to team up in talks with Apple over the access it gives businesses to its near field communication (NFC) hardware, the technology that allows phones to make tap-and-go payments.