Although Canada’s major banks have finally gotten on board with Apple Pay, a new report in The Globe and Mail (via iPhone in Canada) suggests the banks paid a “steep price” for Apple Pay when it came to negotiations, despite the fact that many would have expected the “Big Five” banks to have the upper hand. The negotiations for Apple Pay apparently took months, and multiple sources have revealed that the terms of the deal would “suggest that the banks were not in the driver’s seat at the negotiating table.” Although neither Apple nor any of the Canadian banks have revealed any of the details, two sources told the Globe and Mail that they agreed to “15 basis points” which equates to $0.15 for every $100 transaction made through Apple Pay for credit cards, and $0.04 per transaction for debit card payments.
While the base fee is reportedly similar to the original terms negotiated with U.S. banks when Apple Pay first launched, sources told The Financial Post that Apple got a slightly better deal in that credit card transaction fees lower to four basis points — or $0.04 per $100 — after an annual payment of $0.50 per card is reached.
This arrangement has been described as more in line with Apple’s deals with banks in Australia and the U.K.
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