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On Monday, DNB stopped supporting Apple Pay for all Sbanken customers.

The decision was poorly received by some of Sbanken’s customers who initially chose Sbanken because they support Apple’s payment service.

DNB explains its choice With Apple not allowing others to access the NFC chip on phones. It is this chip that makes contactless mobile payments possible.

– We at DNB made this decision on our behalf a long time ago, and the reasons we had are still with us after the merger with Sbanken. Our customers can still use other forms of hourly and mobile payment, such as Fitbit, Garmin, Google and Samsung Pay, says Per Christian Ness-Vladset, executive director of product and innovation at DNB.

Oversupply in Nordea

But one person’s death is another person’s bread, as is well known. Communications consultant Henrik Arneberg at Nordea says they saw a significant increase in the number of inquiries after it became known that Sbanken customers were missing out on Apple Pay.

– There is a huge influx of new customers. So far, it is more than double what is usual. There are a lot of young customers, who are asking and signing up as new customers, Arneberg tells DinSide.

Nordea typically welcomes between 12,000 and 15,000 new customers each quarter.

-We aim to provide the best services available to our customers, and we have received a very good response to Apple Pay. That’s why we want to put the customer first, says Arneberg.

Does not require NFC access

DNB explains its choice by saying that Apple does not allow others to access the NFC chip on phones. Is there something you would also like Nordea to access?

Basically, everyone wants access to all the infrastructure, so it is often owned by those who created the infrastructure themselves and can decide how to use it. Many Norwegian and foreign banks probably want to be able to make payments using Apple Pay directly, without using a card system like VISA and MC, which means you get direct access to NFC. In the same way, many fintechs/big tech companies are likely to want access to banking infrastructure without necessarily having it, Arneberg explains.

– Nordea believes that the most important thing here is to give customers Apple Pay, which is offered by almost all banks across Europe. He concludes that we would like access to the NFC chip, but this does not help our customers.

– Consumer care

– Presenting the problem to customers

Boulder is another bank that has noticed an increase in new customers recently.

– When the news broke, the customer flow was ten times the level on normal days. Apple Pay is a powerful driver, and customers adopted the service immediately, Boulder-based manager Simen Eilertsen tells DinSide.

As of today, a third of all payments in Boulder are made using Apple Pay, according to the manager. This is a 50 percent increase since May.

Whether it’s Boulder, DNB or Apple that has access to an NFC chip doesn’t mean much to most people. The most important thing is that you as a customer get your needs met as simply as possible. You get that with Apple Pay, says Ellertsen.

The manager believes that DNB not having access to the NFC chip is not primarily the customers’ problem, but rather the bank’s problem.

– By removing Apple Pay, DNB/Sbanken pays its issue to the customer. He says: We completely understand customers’ frustration with this, and we see that people who love Apple Pay are not afraid to switch banks.

Apple has previously They used security as an argument for not allowing third parties access. The European Union could force the iPhone manufacturer to open access to the NFC chip. The European Commission has opened a case against Apple to find out whether the company’s App Store and mobile payment service Apple Pay constitute a violation of EU competition law.