Payments innovator, Heritage Bank, is set to deepen its presence in the digital payments market with the launch of new Eftpos-enabled services for users of Samsung Pay.
Under a deal to be announced this morning, Samsung Pay subscribers will be given access to tokenised, contactless transactions using the Eftpos network.
Heritage Bank is the first debit card issuer to launch the solution, which allows users of Samsung Pay mobile wallets to choose between making debit card payments via Eftpos or the Visa network with a simple toggle on their user interface.
Eftpos said that other banks and credit unions are expected to add the new tokenised capability to their debit cards over the next twelve months.
The Australian-owned scheme is relying on a stream of new digital services to reclaim market share in payments processing that was lost to Visa and Mastercard in the last decade.
The advent of contactless payments a decade ago helped the international schemes to erode Eftpos’ once dominant position in the processing of debit payments, but there are signs the local provider has begun to retrieve business.
Eftpos chief executive Stephen Benton said he had seen a rapid expansion in the use of mobile wallets during the pandemic.
“Eftpos cardholders will embrace Samsung Pay for everyday payments, as we are already experiencing on average 20 per cent growth month on month across Eftpos mobile transactions,” he said.
“With Australians showing a greater preference for contactless payments during the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the launch of Samsung Pay for our eftpos cardholders, we don’t expect this trend to slow down anytime soon.”
Heritage is a Queensland-based mutual bank that has emerged as the largest issuer of prepaid cards in Australia through distribution deals with Qantas, Optus and Australia Post. The bank’s chief executive Peter Lock said the addition of the Eftpos capability would give customers more choices on how they accessed and used their funds.
“To be the first issuer in Australia to launch the Eftpos-Samsung Pay solution is a fantastic milestone and further builds on Heritage’s expertise as one of the most technologically innovative banks in the country,” said Lock.