Beem It, a person-to-person mobile payments app backed by Commonwealth Bank, National Bank of Australia and Westpac, has launched.
The app will enable Aussies with Android and iOS handsets to send up to $200 a day instantly for free, no matter who they bank with.
To sign up for the app, users create a 'handle' similar to a social media profile and verify their identity with a driver's licence or Medicare card before adding a Visa or Mastercard debit card.
The app offers a messaging-style interface, where users can choose to send or request money, or split a bill, by tagging friends' handles.
Although Beem It will initially focus on instant P2P payments, it could eventually expand to point-of-sale transactions, bringing it into competition with the likes of Android Pay and Apple Pay.
The three banks backing Beem It have been engaged in a long struggle with Apple, refusing to offer its service to their customers after being denied authorisation to collectively bargain with the US the giant.
ANZ, the only big Oz bank to offer Apple Pay, is not currently involved in Beem It but may sign up in the future.
Separately, NAB and CommBank have both suffered outages over the weekend. A power issue knocked out NAB ATM, EFTPOS, online and mobile banking services for several hours on Sunday. Meanwhile, CBA customers were hit by a problem at EFTPOS terminal provider Optus on Saturday.