Big three Aussie banks build Apple Pay rival

Three of Australia's largest banks have partnered to build a mobile wallet and payment system for smartphones, in their continued fight against mobile payments rival Apple.

The Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and National Australia Bank have formed an independently-run joint venture to develop a payment app for iOS and Android.

The 'Beem' app will be compatible across devices and banks nationwide and offer instant payments, the banks said.

Users won't need to be customers of CBA, Westpac or NAB to use the app; the banks are hoping Beem will be an industry-wide solution adapted by retailers and the rest of the financial industry.

Beem will be released at some stage later this year, the banks said.

It will have a daily funds transfer limit of $200, or $6000 a month, and a receiving limit of $10,000 a month.

The move is a response by the three banks to the threat ot Apple Pay in Australia.

CBA, NAB, Westpac and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank lost their fight in March to be able to access to the near-field communications chips used for the Apple Pay contactless payments system - as they can with Android - so they could offer their own integrated digital wallets to customers.

They had also unsuccessfully lobbied the ACCC to be allowed to band together to bargain with Apple and boycott Apple Pay.

ANZ Bank - notably absent from the Beem partnership - is the only major bank to offer its customers Apple Pay.