As recently as late last year, Credit Suisse couldn't find common ground with Apple Pay. Now, the bank has reached a payments deal with the U.S. tech giant, finews.asia has learned.
Last summer, the two sides were miles away from reaching a deal: Apple Pay was asking for a double-digit million figure marketing budget from Swiss banks hoping to adopt the U.S. tech giant's payments app, a person familiar with the matter told finews.asia.
Cupertino-based Apple has apparently blinked – at least in negotiations with Credit Suisse, finews.asia learned on Tuesday. From the end of April, Credit Suisse will enable Apple Pay on its credit cards, a source familiar with the matter said.
Google Deal Pending?
The bank will also link its cards with Samsung Pay, the Android-based payment solution. The Swiss bank is still negotiating with Google over the terms, the person said. The news raises serious questions over the viability of Twint, Swiss-only payments push by banks and retailers in Switzerland.
Credit Suisse has «been in talks with international technology providers on mobile payments for several months now. We're optimistic that we can bring these to a conclusion in coming months», a Credit Suisse spokesman told finews.com.
«Credit Suisse's strategy was and is to offer our international clientele alternative technologies as well as provide a selection. We also want to offer solutions which work outside of Switzerland.»
Committed to Twint
The bank already links its credit cards to Swatch Pay, a watch with a built-in credit card chip enabling contactless payments. Credit Suisse said its commitment to Twint remains unchanged.
Swiss anti-trust investigators shocked the finance industry last year with an investigation that Swiss banks conspired to freeze out rivals like Samsung Pay and Apple Pay from the domestic market. Credit Suisse's deal with Apple doesn't halt the investigation, which is focused on alleged collusion in the past.
To be sure, the Apple Pay move ensures that Credit Suisse clients can pay with their smartphones abroad, and not just in Switzerland with Twint. The banks' own solution also has the disadvantage that it cannot use so-called near-field communication, or NFC, chip; this makes payments at the cash register a relatively clumsy undertaking.
