How can my business accept Apple Pay?

Nowadays, our mobile phones are also our cameras, camcorders, social enablers, weather forecasters, alarm clocks, address books, calendars, online banks, and more. So, it’s only natural that we’d like them to be our wallets too – with payment methods such as Apple Pay.

Covered in this article:

• What’s driving the move to contactless payments?
• What is Apple Pay?
• How does Apple Pay work and why is it secure?
• How can my business start accepting Apple Pay?
• Can my online store website accept Apple Pay?
• Is Apple Pay free for merchants in Australia?
• How can my customers start paying with Apple Pay?
• Do my customers need an app to make payments with Apple Pay?

What’s driving the move to contactless payments?

Many of our habits have changed since COVID 19 forced its way into our lives, including the way we work, socialise, and protect our health. The natural desire to avoid infection has driven change in the way we make and accept payments — with contactless payments becoming favoured over cash as a payment method.

Tap and go credit and debit cards avoid the need to physically slide cards through EFTPOS machines or insert chip cards; and temporary increases in no-PIN-required payment limits mean that many more purchases can now be made 100% contactless. Fuelling the change in the way we make and accept payments has been the growth of smart device payment methods such as Apple Pay.

What is Apple Pay?

Apple Pay is the easy, secure, and private way for customers to make payments with their existing credit and debit cards when using an Apple device.

For in-store payments, Apple Pay uses the NFC and secure element chips that are built into iPhone and Apple Watch. This is the same underlying technology that is in contactless credit and debit cards, and means Apple Pay works with any existing contactless card terminal.

Apple Pay is a payment method that sits in the Wallet app of your compatible iPhone, or Apple Watch, and it uses NFC to communicate with EFTPOS machines – without the need for physical contact.

For online eCommerce payments, Apple Pay can be used in iOS apps, and web sites when using the built in Safari browser on Apple devices.

How does Apple Pay work and why is it secure?

Apple uses security features built into the hardware and software of Apple devices to help protect the user’s transactions. Apple doesn’t store or have access to full card details, and these are never stored on Apple devices or shared with merchants when Apple Pay is used. Merchants are only provided with a user’s Device Account Number.

Each transaction is authorised by the user’s Face ID, Touch ID or the device passcode and a confirmation is displayed in the Wallet. This shows the merchant name, where and when the transaction occurred, and the amount of the payment or refund.

Paying by Apple Pay is simple, fast, secure, and contactless. Better still for your business, Apple Pay helps reduce queues by speeding up payments.

How can my business start accepting Apple Pay in-store?

If your card reader is NFC enabled, it should be able to accept Apple Pay. You don’t have to install anything or change settings.

Westpac EFTPOS Now portable EFTPOS machines are NFC enabled, as are our EFTPOS Now with Presto, EFTPOS Flex and EFTPOS Connect terminals, which both integrate with POS systems. So, all can accept Apple Pay.

You can also take payments using the Westpac EFTPOS Air mobile app on your compatible phone or tablet, as long as it is NFC enabled (which most recently released models are).  

Apple Pay users just have to hold their enabled device close to your EFTPOS machine or phone/tablet screen, and you’ll hear the distinctive audio signal as soon as a payment has been taken successfully.

Can my online store website accept Apple Pay?

This will depend on the payment gateway you are using.

If you’d like to know more about accepting Apple Pay in your e-commerce business, request a callback from one of our specialists and they’ll be happy to chat through your options

Or check out the Apple guides e-commerce platforms and payment service providers and Apple Pay for developers.

Is Apple Pay free for merchants in Australia?

Apple Pay transactions are absorbed into your merchant fees. Depending on your EFTPOS payment provider and business preference, transactions may be charged for as a percentage rate that varies by card type, as a single flat rate for most popular credit and debit cards, or as part of a monthly merchant plan based on the anticipated number of transactions.

Your payments services provider will be able to help you choose the best option based on volume and the way you take payments. Again, we have specialists ready to chat through your options:

How can my customers start paying with Apple Pay?

To set up Apple Pay, open the Wallet app on iPhone, and tap the Plus in the top right, then follow the prompts.

Westpac customers also have the option of setting up Apple Pay in the Westpac App, by tapping ‘Cards’ in the menu, choosing a card, and tapping ‘Add to Apple Wallet’. Or they can set up Apple Pay in Online Banking.

We’ve put together a how-to guide to setting up Apple Pay on your iPhone, Apple Watch, or iPad, and how to make payments with it in store, in app, and online.¹

Do my customers need an app to make payments with Apple Pay?

No, when customers use Apple Pay it sits in their Wallet app, which is a built-in app on Apple devices. They just have to open the Wallet app, tap + in the top right corner and follow the prompts. Then straight away they can start making fast, secure payments in-store and in supported apps and web sites.

As a small business owner, you’ll know that accepting payments the way your customers want to pay, makes perfect sense – whether it’s in store, online, or in a mobile business. So, it’s important to accept contactless payments and well worth checking that you’re offering your customers the option to pay by Apple Pay.