Here Comes Apple Pay, Look Out PayPal!

During Apple’s Live September 9th event in Cupertino, among the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 plus and Apple Watch announcements, was another very special little gem – Apple Pay. Simply stated, whether you are using your iPhone 6, iPhone 6 plus or Apple Watch, you will be able to pay for things without the need to carry all your cards, or even your wallet at all. It’s a big deal, and it’s finally here… and it seems that PayPal has found itself with some serious competition to consider.

What Does This Mean for PayPal?

Apple has partnerships with retailers, debit card issuers and credit cart networks that automatically gives Apple Pay credibility and market coverage. PayPal was not on the list of partners announced by Apple during the unveiling of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch. Since Apple Pay uses NFC (Near Field Communications) which is a field chip that masks credit card numbers and delivers the number to retailers only one time, it doesn’t track what you’ve paid for an item or even what that item is. iPhone 6 users will be able to pay just by using a TouchID as verification. Apple is playing the payment game smart, and we’ll see soon how users respond. Because Apple is using a secure payment token, it’s possible that PayPal can’t become a partner since they operate under a different system, which means they will have to compete for market share. Only time will tell, but the ease of use that Apple Pay promises for Brick and Mortar, mobile, and in-app purchases might just be enough to lure many PayPal users away. This alone is reason for merchants to take notice and begin considering their options.

Good News for Authorize.net Merchants

Apple Pay will help eliminate the divide between online and offline shopping, since the same system will also let buyers pay for items on the Internet. E-commerce customers with retail stores will be able to incorporate Apple Pay into the online checkout systems already in place on their websites. Small business owners should keep an eye out for more information on how to incorporate Apple Pay into their e-commerce efforts. If you are already an Authorize.Net customer with an online presence, you are already ahead of the game.

Popular Participating Stores, Apps, & Banks

Stores	Banks & Credit Cards	Apps
Apple	American Express	Apple
BJs	Bank of America	Groupon
McDonalds	Capital One	Open Table
Office Depot	Chase	Houzz
Whole Foods	Citi	Hotel Tonight
Panera Bread	Wells Fargo	Target
Walgreens	Visa	Staples

For a complete list of participating stores, banks and apps, please visit Apple.com.

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

In the wake of the birth of Apple Pay, PayPal and Ebay have announced that PayPal will be splitting into its own separate, publicly traded company. This will create two simpler, more focused companies allowing PayPal the opportunity to compete for the part of the market that Apple Pay is expected to eat into. The real threat to PayPal is that consumers who adopt Apple Pay to replace their physical wallet may also use it as their payment option when making in-app purchases. Apple Pay is also expected to be extended to the web, threatening PayPal’s core business.

So, What Does It All Mean?

Nobody knows for sure… just yet. Below are a few of the most popular speculations:

• The introduction of Apple Pay could be the beginning of the end for PayPal.
• Apple Pay could push Google and PayPal closer together as we continue to witness technical shifts.
• Rivals such as Google and PayPal could benefit because of the increased attention placed on mobile payment options, like Apple Pay.

Whatever the case may be, we’ll be closely monitoring how users react to this payment experience and how it evolves as we adapt to (and most likely embrace) this new trend in mobile payments.

Tags: Ecommerce • WooCommerce