Three of the ‘big 4’ banks in Australia have today announced they are working together on a new cross platform mobile wallet for use in Australia.
Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are the source of the new app, called Beem with the aim to enable instant payments from person-to-person, or person to small business owners. Even with the three banks pushing the service, users of Beem won’t even need to be customers of CBA, Westpac or NAB.
It’s a personal app rather than a payment solution aimed at replacing the tap and pay solution that currently headline the banks mobile wallet offerings. At launch, customers using Beem will be able to send a maximum of $200 per day and receive a maximum of $10,000 per month which the conglomerate describe as ‘an initial risk control measure’.
Beem will be aimed at making things like splitting bills easy, or even allowing small business owners without EFTPOS facilities to take digital payments.
NAB Chief Operating Officer, Antony Cahill, said the bank is continually looking for opportunities to make banking easier, simpler, and more convenient for its customers, both consumers and businesses.
It will be secure, with the banks promising that Beem will have ‘bank level security’ as well as encrypting user account information. Additionally every transaction will be authenticated and subject to real-time fraud monitoring.
The mobile wallet will be cross platform with both Android and iOS apps being made available. Screenshots of the app were shared as well:
Commonwealth Bank will be starting user testing of a Beem prototype app later this year. No details on how users will be chosen has been announced.
Do you see yourself using Beem?
Sounds like something similar to the highly popular service in Sweden called Swish which is used extensively for small payments between friends and even small businesses. It’s costless and you don’t need to carry pocket change.
Love the clickbait title! You make it sound like it’s launched already.
What’s the point of this when the New Payments Platform is just around the corner and every bank is on board with that proposal? It’s pay via Mobile Number, Email or ABN.
Or is this somewhat leveraging that infrastructure and is just the consumer facing branding of it?
Yes Android Pay is now enabled for CBA issued MasterCard. I have just successfully added my card now. I cannot however add Amex card.
This better not mean Commbank have scrapped their plans to release Android Pay by the end of the year. No one cares about 3rd party payment apps when you can use a native function of a phone.
Yep, I thought exactly the same about NAB. Their logic is, let’s design our own payment solution that nobody asked for even though there are already other much better payment options out there. Sounds a bit like Samsung and bixby really.
Bring on the Banking Royal Commission I say.
Android Pay already works with CommBank.
I just tried. Added a card quickly and easily. Tested it with a $1 transaction on our EFTPOS machine and it went through perfectly and super quick. Even scored a $5 Coles gift card.
Sorry first not should be now.
I was told on Twitter that Commbank is not working for Android Pay but I tried and not working. They said will investigate my issue. Would be great you guys can try and see.