Since 2016, Apple Pay has allowed individuals to pay for their purchases using their iPhone as a contactless bank card. With the Tap to Pay functionality officially launched in France on November 14, Apple is this time offering merchants the opportunity to transform their smartphone into a payment terminal (TPE). They can easily accept payments from Apple Pay, of course, but also contactless bank cards.
No hardware is required. Tap to Pay just requires, on the merchant side, an iPhone and the iOS application of a partner bank. When paying, the customer is invited to bring their contactless bank card, iPhone or Apple Watch close to the merchant’s iPhone if they wish to pay with Apple Pay. It can also use a competing digital wallet like Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet. Payment is made using NFC technology.
LVMH, Dyson or Rituals in pole position
Among the first banks to offer this service to their professional customers, we find the BPCE group – Banques Populaires, Caisses d’Epargne and Payplug – and the neobank Revolut for holders of a Revolut Pro or Revolut Business account. They will soon be joined by BNP Paribas and Crédit Coopératif, Apple announces. The payment platforms Adyen, myPOS, SumUp, Viva Wallet and Worldline and soon Market Pay, Stancer and Stripe have also integrated this functionality.
On the merchant side, Tap to Pay is, of course, already available in all Apple Stores in France. The service is also being deployed in the points of sale of the LVMH group’s Christian Dior Couture and Sephora brands, as well as Dyson, Rituals and Sézane. L’Addition has integrated Tap to Pay into its POS system used by thousands of restaurants in France.
The service is compatible with contactless bank cards from major payment networks including American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa. CB (Bank Cards), the most used payment scheme on the French market, is missing. Apple says it is working on supporting it “ in the coming weeksr”.
Collection while on the move
To distribute this new service, already deployed in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, Apple is banking on the growing adoption of contactless payments, more than 90% of bank cards in circulation in France being equipped with this contactless technology.
Beyond small merchants and large brands who wish to digitize the in-store purchasing experience, artisans, micro-entrepreneurs, self-employed people or VSEs may be interested in using this new payment method in a mobile situation. , without having to invest in a payment terminal. These professionals will nevertheless have to acquire… an iPhone. Either an XS model or later working with the latest version of iOS.
In terms of security, Tap to Pay is based on the same technology as Apple Pay. “ All transactions made via Tap to Pay on iPhone are encrypted and processed using the Secure Element, and as with Apple Pay, Apple has no information about what is being purchased or who made the purchase. , assures the firm to the apple.
On the other hand, Apple has not communicated on how it intends to monetize this new service beyond boosting iPhone sales. According to Le Figarothe American firm led by Tim Cook does not charge commissions from traders on their transactions. “It nevertheless has financial agreements with payment platforms. »