CommBank Finally Releases Kaching For Android, Previews Kaching For Facebook


Android users have been patiently (or not so patiently depending on who you talk to) waiting for the bank’s flagship Kaching product on Android for almost a year now. Today the bank finally put the app up onto the Google Play store, albeit without NFC payment capabilities.

The Kaching for Android app will work on Android version 2.3 and above. Users can pay via Facebook, BPAY and they can also locate the nearest branch and ATM as well.

Fragmentation has always been an issue for the bank when developing Kaching for Android, and the support for Android 2.3 means that the app will support 80 per cent of the Android handset market in Australia — a number that the bank said it was happy with.

The Commonwealth Bank’s chief marketing officer, Andy Lark, told Gizmodo Australia that Kaching for Android wouldn’t support NFC payments due to the fact that Google and various device manufacturers wouldn’t provide the bank with access to the secure element that authenticates contactless transactions. Neither Google, nor device manufacturers like Sony or Samsung would provide a timeline as to when they would provide the bank with access to these keys.

The bank aired a new version of the iOS version today that adds support for Bump payments. That is, you bump your phone together to pay someone. Bump capabilities will be built into the iOS app’s payment menu, and allows peer-to-peer payment spawned from a physical interaction between two devices. Bump won’t be available in the Android version.

Commbank’s surprise announcement was to preview a full version of Kaching running as a Facebook app. Kaching for Facebook supports the full account view from Kaching, and also supports payments to and from your Facebook friends. Once you’ve made or received a payment, you’ll even be able to post the activity to your wall if you’re someone who’s very transparent with your financial activities.


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