Why Google's new payments system is missing out on the big money that Apple gets
Big banks give Apple a 0.15% cut of each credit-card transaction and half a cent for each debit card purchase when people use Apple Pay, but Google won't get anything when people use Android Pay, The Wall Street Journal's Alistair Barr and Robin Sidel report.
Google's missing out on an opportunity to charge fees because Visa and MasterCard recently standardized their "tokenization" card-security services to prevent payments services, like Android Pay, to charge fees to banks.
Apple made its deals before they announced their standardization in late May.
Sources tell Barr and Sidel that Google was hoping to cinch a similar deal with banks as the one Apple has and that this is a blow to the company.
However, it's not all bad news. More card issuers may choose to join Android Pay because of the lack of fees, and the company plans to offer coupons, rewards, and loyalty programs with card issuers and retailers that could earn it more than bank fees anyway.
Bank executives, many of which have signed three year agreements with Apple, have also told the WSJ that they're unhappy sharing fees with Apple, and may try to persuade the company to change its deals. Barr and Sidel point out that as Apple tries to expand Apple Pay outside the US, it will likely have to renegotiate its agreements with banks, and that could be when the revolt against its cut of transactions.