Apple Pay: A guide for merchants

Around the world, millions of consumers use Apple Pay to buy goods and services. Why? It’s quick, secure and convenient. That’s why Apple Pay for business has become an essential tool for merchants looking to thrive in this fast-paced consumer market.

In this guide, we'll explain how to accept Apple Pay for business, discussing its features, benefits and more. We’ll also show you how to accept Apple Pay quickly and easily via Checkout.com.

What is Apple Pay?

Apple Pay is a digital wallet accessible to Apple device users on their iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. It enables users to pay for products and services using NFC (near-field communication) at the point of sale, either remotely via the internet or in-person using iOS apps.

Users can link their Apple Pay wallets to various financial sources including bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards, and even gift cards.

In the context of mobile payment processing, a user that wants to make a purchase from a vendor simply activates the Apple Pay application on their device and places their device close to the NFC area on the vendor's card reader. The transaction is done when four green indicators illuminate and a chime signals a successful payment.

Your business also has the option to configure your websites to accept Apple Pay as a valid payment method. Buyers simply click the "Pay With Apple Pay" button during the checkout process and verify the purchase on their Apple device.

Following the transaction, Apple Pay securely directs the funds from the buyer's linked payment source to your business’ bank account.

How does Apple Pay work for businesses?

To integrate Apple Pay, you must already support credit card payments. This is because you’ll need the services of a credit card processing company or a facilitator to process Apple Pay payments for both online and in-person transactions. 

Your chosen processor must also be ready to accept Apple Pay and be able to activate it within your account. For face-to-face transactions, you'll need a card reader that’s compatible with NFC payments.

When a customer wants to make a purchase using Apple Pay, the credit card processor or facilitator takes charge of processing the transaction and then deposits the funds into your business account, deducting any applicable fees in the process.

As mentioned earlier, Apple Pay works by using NFC technology that allows for wireless communication between two devices when they’re close together. In this case, the devices are the customer's device equipped with the Apple Pay app and your business’ card reader or terminal. NFC technology is one of the most popular methods for contactless and mobile payment systems.

To keep your payments safe, Apple Pay uses a technique called tokenization. Instead of using your real credit card number, it creates a random set of numbers like a secret code. This code is what gets sent over the internet to process your payment, so the actual bank information stays private and hidden.

Tokenization involves the customer setting up Apple Pay and taking a picture of their credit card. Apple then talks to their bank or credit company and switches out the card details with these tokens, which they keep safe on the Apple device. 

Benefits of accepting Apple Pay for business

Apple Pay is one of the most popular digital wallets for three reasons: it’s quick, secure and used by millions of consumers around the world. Here are the benefits of Apple Pay for business in more detail…

It’s quick and efficient 

Mobile contactless payments, like Apple Pay and Google Pay, are quicker than chip card payments, thanks to their tap-and-go feature. This greatly improves the customer’s waiting experience. By enabling Apple Pay for business, you can reduce customer queues faster and increase sales, which can be particularly beneficial during busy periods.

In short, when customers can pay quickly, they're less likely to feel impatient and consider going elsewhere, which can help keep them satisfied and encourage repeat business.

It’s secure

Apple Pay is secure because it uses tokenization to protect sensitive data. This means the actual card data, like the customer's credit card or bank details, are replaced with a set of randomly generated numbers, making it extremely challenging for criminals to steal sensitive information.

Whenever a customer makes a purchase using Apple Pay, a brand new token is created. This token is then decoded and transformed back into useful information once it reaches the payment processor.

Thanks to these robust security measures, Apple Pay leads to fewer instances of fraud, reduces the likelihood of chargebacks, and instills greater confidence in both customers and your business. When deciding which payment methods to provide, security is a key consideration.

Your customers prefer Apple Pay

Customers prefer the speed and efficiency of Apple Pay to chip and pin payments or searching their pockets for cash. In the United States, the number of users opting for proximity mobile payments is projected to increase from 92.3 million in 2020 to an estimated 125 million by 2025.

Benefits of Apple Pay for customers

Apple Pay offers similar benefits to your customers, offering secure payments that are quick and easy to process.

Quicker and easier shopping experience

Apple Pay provides a quicker and easier way for your customers to pay than chip cards and cash payments. For today’s impatient and discerning consumer, this speed and efficiency is exactly what your customers are looking for and should keep them from leaving for an alternative vendor.

Keeps data secure

Apple Pay adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to verify themselves using either Face ID, a fingerprint, or a passcode on their mobile device. This helps prevent unauthorized purchases, especially if the Apple device is lost or stolen.

Does Apple Pay charge fees?

There are no extra costs for a business to accept Apple Pay, just the usual fees for processing credit card payments. So, your business will be subject to a fee from your credit card processor or facilitator for each Apple Pay transaction, similar to regular credit card transactions. This payment processor fee comprises a percentage of the total purchase amount along with a fixed fee per transaction, e.g., 2% + $0.30 per transaction.

Apple doesn't charge businesses anything extra to use Apple Pay. Instead, they charge a small fee to the companies that issue credit cards, just to make sure that the way Apple Pay keeps your information secure stays top-notch. This fee is a tiny fraction of the purchase price, about 0.15%.

How to set up Apple Pay for your business

Thankfully, it’s a breeze. First you need to sign up to accept credit card payments. Here are the next steps:

1. Get an NFC-enabled payment terminal

Apple Pay works through a technology called NFC. To start accepting Apple Pay for business, you'll need a special payment machine that supports this technology. Check with your payment processor to see if your current machine can handle this. If not, work with them to get a new one that can.

2. Set up your reader

Once you have your new NFC-enabled payment terminal, make sure it's working properly by testing it. Then, place it where your customers can easily see and reach it when they're paying. For online-only businesses, ensure your “Pay with Apple Pay” button is clearly visible.

3. Train your staff

Once your terminal is good to go, teach your staff how to handle Apple Pay payments. Make sure they know it from both the customer's side and the salesperson's side. Remember, even though Apple Pay for business is designed to be easy to use, it's important that your staff are comfortable with it so they can provide the best customer experience.

4. Guide customers to use their device with the reader

Now that everything is set up on your end, when customers want to use Apple Pay, direct them to the terminal. When their device connects with the reader, you should see four green lights and hear a chime. That means the payment went through and the transaction is complete.

Learn more: What is a Device Account Number? (DAN) (Apple Pay tokenisation)

Accept Apple Pay with Checkout.com

Want to unlock your global potential? By accepting Apple Pay, you can provide a secure and convenient way to pay for millions of Apple users around the world. Best of all, it couldn’t be easier to get started.

With Checkout.com, you can accept Apple Pay for business quickly and easily, offering secure and seamless payments to your customers, helping to increase sales volumes, reduce chargebacks and improve the customer experience. We can also get you set up with Apple Pay card payouts, too.

For more information on how to set up Apple Pay for business, talk to our friendly and knowledgeable experts today.