This week Apple announced that it had sold an astonishing 39 million iPhones in the quarter ending September 2014, up from 33.8 million sold in the same quarter last year.
There is no doubt that we love our smartphones, and yesterday the iPhone just got smarter with the introduction of Apple Pay, described on their website as “Your Wallet. Without the Wallet”.
Many major banks have already signed up to parter with Apple, and more are scheduled to follow.
The convenience that Apple Pay presents for shoppers, and the huge number of iPhones sold, suggests that consumers will readily adopt this new way of paying.
Apple Pay can be used with retailers and chains such as Open Table, Panera Bread, Target and Staples, with more scheduled to follow.
What About Your Store?
So can your store use Apple Pay yet?
Most retail stores that accept contactless payments that are based on wireless-chip technology, or NFC, should be able to use Apple Pay. If your store has the hardware in place, but has not activated the functionality yet, now may be a good time to do so.
Shoppers can also use Apple Pay within store apps, without having to enter card numbers, or any other personal information, using fingerprint ID to authorize a transaction.
Research indicates that the majority of stores in the US are not equipped at this time to do contactless transactions, and smaller retailers may be wondering how they are going to keep up with yet another new piece of technology.
However, due to a requirement coming into force in 2015, merchants will need to upgrade equipment to include an enhanced security system or EMV, so now may be a good time to also enhance the system with NFC capability.