When you’re a business, it’s key that your payment processing system is quick, simple, and secure. Your system needs to provide the ways that your customers want to pay. About 25% of people in Canada and USA have an iPhone. Those iPhone users are very active at using Apple Pay. Apple Pay was released in 2014 and has now become one of the primary uses of an iPhone. That’s why technology like Apple Pay needs to be on your radar.
Samsung has also released a similar feature called Samsung Pay which has the same benefits, functionality, and cost as Apple Pay.
How Apple Pay Works
To start, let’s briefly go over how Apple Pay works. Apple Pay is a type of contactless payment that is enabled through a technology called near field communication otherwise known as NFC.
Apple Pay is available on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Users just add their credit or debit card to their Apple device by taking a photo of it and going through a few security steps to enable it. Once added, they can press a button to enable it at the point of sale. From there, users simply tap their device to the point of sale to initiate a payment transaction similar to how they would tap a physical credit card.
Apple Pay is also very secure. In order to authenticate a payment through an iPhone, users have to use Touch ID, Face ID or a PIN to enable it in the first place. In addition, the data associated with credit cards is encrypted, so even if an iPhone is lost, the payment data wouldn’t be accessible.
How Much Does it Cost for a Merchant to use Apple Pay?
Apple Pay is free for consumers to use however there is a cost for merchants similar to all payment processing. In credit card processing, merchants generally pay a percentage price and a flat fee per transaction. With Clearly Payments, there is no extra cost for Apple Pay. Tapping their iPhone for Apple Pay is the same price as if a consumer taps their credit card.
Apple Pay supports Visa, American Express, MasterCard, as well as many other credit cards and debit cards. The standard interchange rates used for those cards are the fees that merchants pay.
The Hardware Needed to Accept Apple Pay at my Business
Most payment machines and terminals from Clearly Payments accept Apple Pay. Customers just hold their Apple device over the terminal and complete the transaction. All you need is a standard credit card terminal. It’s as easy as that.
Clearly Payments lets you accept Apple Pay with standard credit card machines, smart payment terminals, and mobile payments. It has become such high demand that we have made it available to most payment options.
Final Thoughts on Apple Pay
Apple Pay is accepted at over 85% of retailers in the Canada and USA. Apple Pay is a way for consumers to replace physical cards, wallets, and cash with their phone. The simplicity, speed, and convenience are reasons why so many consumers use Apple Pay.
