Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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168. To ask the Minister for Finance to outline the timeframe for the deployment of Apple Pay non-cash payment facilities by Irish banks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7460/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am very supportive of innovation, increased competition and efficiency in the payments market.  In 2015 I announced a reduction in interchange fees, making it cheaper for merchants to accept debit cards. I also announced an increase in the limit on contactless payments from €15 to €30 and reformed stamp duty to remove it from debit cards; replacing it with a 12c charge per ATM transaction though with a cap to ensure no consumer would be worse off.

New service providers which bring innovative safe payment methods and additional consumer choice are to be welcomed. The decision on whether and when to provide payment services in the Irish market is ultimately a matter for the providers of such services, though I note that one such mobile payment platform entered this market just two months ago and I expect to see others do the same in due course.