“Square Inc. is giving merchants more than $12,000 worth of Apple Pay transactions for free over a year, another effort by the company to encourage consumers to pay for quick retail transactions with their mobile phones,” Selina Wang reports for Bloomberg.
“The electronic payments processor is betting the investment will boost sales of its contactless readers and entice new merchants to sign on to the system,” Wang reports. “The campaign with Apple Inc.’s digital payment technology will be targeted at retail businesses with counter tops — as opposed to food trucks and street sellers that were among Square’s earliest customers.”
“Consumer use of mobile wallets such as Apple Pay ‘is still new, it’s early days, and it’s small,’ Jesse Dorogusker, Square’s head of hardware, said in an interview. ‘But we think the opportunity is big if we can communicate the right story — speed to get in and out of a business matter and it’s also a more secure transaction,'” Wang reports. “Joshua Kulp, a Square merchant and owner of Honey Butter Fried Chicken in Chicago, said Apple Pay is much more popular with his customers than credit cards, particularly as the cards have transitioned from swipe strips to embedded chips. ‘Keeping the line moving and flowing is very important to us,’ said Kulp. ‘When chip readers came out, we all noticed it took seconds longer than everyone was used to. With Apple pay it’s so fast.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We use Apple Pay every where it’s possible to do so, but, we’re the minority. Apple could have spurred usage more quickly with incentives and signage.
Two simple things could turbocharge Apple Pay usage: Better (or actual) signage at the point of sale and incentives for using Apple Pay. Imagine Apple Pay usage if Apple simply offered $1 to spend at the Apple Store for every hundred spent via Apple Pay. – MacDailyNews, November 30, 2016
SEE ALSO:
Apple Pay transactions are growing at a rapid rate – November 30, 2016
Apple Pay messaging at point-of-sale drives 135% increase in mobile payments usage – November 21, 2016
Apple Pay at two years: Not much to celebrate – yet – October 20, 2016
Apple Pay’s frequency of usage is putrid – August 3, 2016
Apple Pay and wannabes must offer perks to grow – December 14, 2015
Starbucks, KFC, and Chili’s to accept Apple Pay this year – October 8, 2015
Barclays to bring Apple Pay to the UK in early 2016 – October 7, 2015
Some Best Buy stores are now accepting Apple Pay – September 18, 2015
MCX CEO gone a day after Apple Pay lands Best Buy – April 28, 2015
Best Buy capitulates, to accept Apple Pay despite CurrentC allegiance – April 27, 2015
Major retailers see Apple Pay wave – November 17, 2014
In only 3 weeks, Apple Pay is changing how consumers pay – November 17, 2014
Boycott CVS and Rite Aid – October 27, 2014
Bad business: CVS and Rite Aid antagonize their most well-heeled customers by blocking Apple Pay – October 27, 2014
CVS stores reportedly disabling NFC to shut down Apple Pay – October 25, 2014
iPhone users earn significantly more than those who settle for Android phones – October 8, 2014
Yet more proof that Android is for poor people – June 27, 2014
More proof that Android is for poor people – May 13, 2014
Apple’s iOS dominates in richer countries, Android in poorer regions – March 25, 2014
Twitter heat map shows iPhone use by the affluent, Android by the poor – June 20, 2013
Still very few vendors / retailers using Apple Pay. Hard to tell when a vendor accepts Apple Pay.
MDN, forget $1 per hundred in Apple Store, Apple needs to incentivize the merchants to accept Apple Pay!! Retailers are so desperate today, a little bit of revenue sharing by Apple, or payment to advertise acceptance of Apple Pay would go a long long way!
“Hard to tell when a vendor accepts Apple Pay”
Not really. If you see the “contactless terminal” logo, Apple Pay will probably work. Don’t even bother asking the cashier; just try it.
Agreed. I’d use it more if it was offered more places aside from Starbucks, Dunkin, Whole Foods, and Jewel.
When I ask about it at places that don’t offer it they look at me like I have two heads. They’re barely up to speed with chip readers, much less Apple Pay.
Don’t ask. If their pay terminals are contactless, just try it—it will likely work.
Live in Ontario Canada …. Apple Pay works pretty much everywhere … vendors do not advertise Apple Pay … I think because it basically works the same as Tap to Pay cards which we have had for awhile … absolutely love Apple Pay …
I use Apple Pay whenever I can. But there’s a few problems:
– Some large retailers (Walmart, Old Navy/Gap) updated their POS systems in the last couple years… *without* NFC capabilities.
– Those with NFC capabilities typically limit the amount that can be paid through tap. Maybe $100. That’s to legit protect them against fraud by “dumb” tap credit cards, and they apparently have no way (or care) to tell if the tapping chip has additional authentication like Apple Pay does.
– even at sit-down restaurants with POS that accept NFC, waiters put the card in before processing the transaction. It is apparently possible to enter all that (bill total, tip amount) without a card in, but they usually don’t give you the option and insist on a physical card for chip + PIN.
Winn-Dixie had Apple Pay, it actually brought me back into their stories. Then they updated the POS to use the new chip cards and did not buy ones that take tap-to-pay. A lot of retailers have gone with the with the new cheaper system because that had to have the chip and the Apple Pay was a option. Unfortunately those card readers tend to stay there for ever once their in.
Have noticed here in Canada, ApplePay is widely available at most POS terminals but rarely used. As for my wife and I, it’s far more reliable to pull out the chip card than fuss with our iPhone fingerprint readers that have a 50% failure rate and often leaves us grinning sheepishly at an irritated cashier. The fingerprint reader simply has to get better.
Sorry to hear the fingerprint scanner is failing you. What model iPhone is it? Mine’s a 6s, which does have an improved scanner over the 6, and it works almost all the time for me. I may have had to re-try just once or twice since Apple Pay became available in Canada.
I find myself having to help the employees in the drive through at several McDonald’s. They usually reach for the barcode scanner and I explain to them that they need to move the credit card reader to the window, click the ‘credit card payment button’ on the terminal, and then it will work. I found some training docs online for employees that have helped me understand how to coach them. If they don’t press that button, then you sit there waiving your phone over the machine like an idiot.
Recently in New Zealand, Apple Pay widely advertised and works most everywhere.