After some hint of a launch in recent weeks our assumptions have come true with ANZ today announcing they have launched Apple Pay for their Australian customers. This could and should be the first now of many banks to turn on a feature which adds great value to the end user – their customer.

Where there is smoke there is fire we said, and that turns out to be true.

In CEO Tim Cook’s comments yesterday during Apple’s quarterly earnings call there was no mention of a launch, but certainly great talk of the growth of Apple Pay globally.

“The reach of Apple Pay also continues to expand, following a very successful launch in China in the March quarter and last week’s rollout in Singapore. Apple Pay is growing at a tremendous pace, with more than 5 times the transaction volume of a year-ago, and one million new users per week. There are more than 10 million contactless-ready locations in the countries where Apple Pay has launched to date, including over 2.5 million locations now accepting Apple Pay in the U.S., and more expansion of Apple Pay is coming soon.”

That “soon” is today for Australians, with ANZ customers now able to add their credit cards to Apple pay to enable swift mobile payments on their compatible iPhones or Apple Watches.

ANZ Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott said: “The introduction of Apple Pay is a significant milestone in our strategy to use digital technology to provide our customers with a superior experience and will be a watershed moment in the adoption of mobile payments in Australia.

“I’m proud we’re the first major Australian bank to offer Apple Pay and we are confident the convenience, security and privacy will be well received by our customers.

“With the high adoption rates of contactless payments in Australia, our customers will be world leaders in their ability to use their mobiles to make the vast bulk of essential payments,” Mr Elliott said.

This comes as VISA launches a direct mobile payment campaign which while not device specific will certainly generate great interest. Their social media promotion of the “Pay with your smartphone” will push mobile device payments on social as well as through search keywords and likely mainstream media.

This could also indicate the complexity of the behind the scenes deals over recent months is that the only cards accepted in Apple Pay by ANZ at this time are VISA. This means any ANZ MasterCard can’t be used and probably indicates some negotiation on rates and fees between the banks, VISA and Apple.

Certainly though you’ll need to check your specific ANZ card for compatibility before jumping in to add it to your iPhone.

UPDATE: EFTM have confirmed that ANZ issued AMEX cards are also accepted by Apple Pay now also.

“American Express welcomes the addition of ANZ as a provider of Apple Pay in Australia. This means that more Australians with American Express cards, those issued directly by us, and by ANZ, can enjoy the ease and convenience of paying with Apple Pay whilst earning rewards.”

“As the first issuer to introduce Apple Pay in Australia, we know that it’s becoming a popular payment option for our tech savvy Card Members, and are thrilled that more people can now use this digital wallet to make purchases.”

ANZ are going to take an aggressive stance on this too – despite being late to the party with AMEX in market for 5 months now, ANZ will be hammering the other banks in their marketing:

It’s good news as a huge leap forward for customers and if VISA itself is pushing it could see more banks follow soon.

I’m a man of my word, so I’ll stick to what I said In October last year – “Personally, I’m prepared to switch my normal bank accounts to the first bank to introduce Apple Pay.” I’ll find an ANZ branch within the week – your loss St George!