Australia is a market with a high share of iPhone usage, where Apple Pay — completing a payment with a single Face ID approval in Safari or in-app checkout — is becoming an alternative standard to entering a card number. This guide sets out the criteria for deciding whether to adopt it and the settlement structure for Korean merchants.
In Australia's online retail market, worth roughly USD 40 billion a year, cards and digital wallets sit at the center of payments, and Australia is known as a country with a particularly high iPhone share of the smartphone market. Apple Pay tokenizes cards issued by major Australian banks onto the device, allowing approval by biometric authentication in Safari web payments and in-app payments without exposing the actual card number. Because the card-entry step disappears, it has a clear effect in reducing mobile checkout drop-off.
For merchants with a high share of mobile web and app sales — especially D2C owned malls where first-purchase conversion matters — surfacing an Apple Pay button significantly reduces friction in guest checkout. It is worth prioritizing in fashion, beauty, and subscription services with a high share of iOS users, and it is common to pair it with Google Pay to cover Android users.
When a consumer taps the Apple Pay button at checkout, the card tokenized and stored on the device appears in the payment sheet, and the payment is approved with Face ID or Touch ID authentication. The transaction is processed using a network token, so the actual card number is never passed to the merchant, and 3-D Secure authentication may be combined depending on the issuer's policy. Hecto Financial receives the approved funds in AUD, converts the currency, and settles in the contracted currency of USD, KRW, or JPY.
When integrated through Hecto Financial's payment page, Apple Pay can be reviewed on a Korea-registered-company basis without a separate local Australian contract. The scope of coverage may differ between web payments and in-app payments, and digital goods are subject to app marketplace policy, so please arrange prior consultation based on your sales format.
※ This section describes the general support process and does not guarantee that any specific merchant can be integrated. Please confirm the exact scope of support and applicable fees through consultation.
Confirm eligibility to contract on a Korea-registered-business basis
The integration method and priority vary depending on your online sales channel mix, such as owned mall, open marketplace, or mobile app
Check in advance whether your products fall under a category restricted by Apple Pay's merchant policy
Confirm compliance with Australia's payment and foreign exchange regulations (see official sources below)
The settlement path for Apple Pay transactions is the same as for the underlying card. Hecto Financial receives payment from Australian consumers in AUD, converts the currency, and pays the Korean merchant in one of USD, KRW, or JPY as selected in the contract. Refunds are processed as a cancellation of the original card transaction and returned to the consumer's card, and disputes such as chargebacks proceed according to card network rules, so please confirm the response deadline in the contract.
Hecto Financial's team can work with you to review the right combination of payment methods for the Australian market.
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