Google said it will debut Android Pay in Australia, its second country after the US, in the first half of next year, where it appears to be forging closer links with local banks compared to rival Apple.

The search giant said it is working closely with Australia’s major financial institutions, including ANZ and Westpac, to bring Android Pay to their MasterCard and Visa cardholders.

Meanwhile Apple has struggled to strike deals with the same banks for the launch of its rival payment service, according to a number of media reports. It is thought to have been aggressive in its demand for revenue share with the banks.

Apple Pay launched in Australia last month but is only available to American Express cardholders at present.

Google’s service in Australia will initially only enable NFC-based payment at the point-of-sale in locations such as shops and restaurants. It launched in the US earlier this autumn.

Australia is an unusual market in that contactless payment is already relatively common, certainly compared to the US. Hence banks do not feel under any pressure to strike a deal to enable their customers to make NFC-based payment via smartphones.

Google said other countries will follow Australia during 2016.

In-app purchases too
Now Android Pay users in the US will be able to make purchases via a number of Android apps, as well as contactless payments. Google listed sixteen on board from the start, including Lyft, Jet.com, Hotel Tonight and Opentable. More apps will join over the next few months, it said.

The attraction for users is no longer having to input credit card details via their mobile device. Instead they tap the Android Pay button in the app, confirm their information and close the purchase. Android Pay never shares your card details with merchants.