Tyro chief executive Jon Davey said smartphones would not replace traditional payment terminals, but provide another option that would primarily appeal to small companies and sole traders.

“We think that having these BYO devices is a fantastic and innovative way to be able to provide merchants with choice and allow them to be able to offer services that help them accept payments,” Davey said.

The cost to merchants of accepting payments through an iPhone would be “very similar” to the costs of doing so through a payment terminal, Davey said.

ANZ Bank will also make the service available in coming months through a payment joint venture with French firm Worldline, Apple said, as will fintechs Stripe, Zeller and Till Payments.

Apple also makes revenue from banks through its consumer-facing service Apple Pay, and the tech giant’s growing clout in payments has previously sparked complaints from some banks and calls for regulation.

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But de Bruin and Davey said Apple’s latest move did not raise competition concerns for them.

For more than a year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been considering the competition impacts of Apple’s practice of restricting third-party access to the iPhone hardware that allows payments.

Apple does not process the actual movement of money between accounts, which will occur via existing credit and debit card infrastructure.

In the US, Apple has expanded further into finance by making short-term consumer loans, and last month it teamed up with Goldman Sachs to launch savings accounts. The tech company hasn’t said if it has similar plans for Australia.

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As digital payments have taken off and cash usage has plunged, a range of fintechs including Square (part of US fintech Block) have sought to profit from the change in behaviour by offering digital payment services to smaller firms.

Managing director of payments consultancy The Initiatives Group, Lance Blockley, said the trend towards payments being accepted on smartphones was in part a competitive response to the rise of low-cost payment devices such as Square’s dongle, which connects to a phone.

“I don’t think it’s going to displace the point of sale terminal, but it’s another way to accept a digital payment. It’s another nail in the cash coffin,” Blockley said.