How will Apple Pay change the way SME’s work?

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The past few months have seen Apple frantically step up their pursuit for innovation. First, their new streaming service, Apple Music, and now the use of contactless payment through their smartphones, formally known as Apple Pay.

Cash payments are on their way to becoming a thing of the past, with credit and debit cards being the payment style of choice. However, transactions are becoming easier, with contactless payments being introduced across banks, which became popular last year. Now, with Apple Pay, fingerprint recognition technology is all it takes to make a quick purchase in-store. Just holding your iPhone near the contactless reader with your finger on Touch ID allows you to pay for items quicker than ever.

This new technology is revolutionary for customers and consumers, but how will it effect small businesses and SME’s?

There is no doubt that the prospect of paying so quickly and easily is promising for small businesses, but will it drastically affect the way they operate? Apple Pay might not change the way businesses work all together, but it will certainly keep them in the game. Jason Richelson, CEO and Founder of Shopkeep, believes that SME’s need to accept and adapt to the way payments are made in order to survive.

“Business owners in the US that have been quick to embrace mobile payments are growing three times faster than the national average, and going out of business much less often (5 per cent fail within one year vs the 25 per cent national average).”

“Put it this way, any business that wants to exist in the future has to prepare for it.”

Due to the popularity and calibre that Apple possesses, you can expect to see this way of payment becoming the norm in the near future. People will expect contactless payments wherever they go. SME’s must cater for that need. The world is changing and small businesses must change with it.

The main area where SME’s are going to benefit from contactless payment, and in particular, Apple Pay, is customer service. Consumers crave simplicity and ease, so the easier it is for someone to pay, this will result in an improved customer experience.

Apple is likely to be the brand that popularises the concept of contactless payment, as Danielle Levitas, SVP Research & Analysis, App Annie, explains.

“Apple is renowned for streamlining and popularising concepts, just think of its impact on MP3 players, digital music and media, smartphones and mobile apps.”

“Although Apple Pay is not the first of its kind, the company’s reach and ability to evangelise is central to driving mobile payments adoption. Delivering a best in class service that is widely promoted, Apple has the ability to turn another sector on its head.”

The UK has become a leader in the mobile payment and banking world, and with a small cafe in Shoreditch being the first to accept payments through Apple Pay, you can expect to see this form of payment begin to be adopted by many small businesses in the future.

Charlie Atkinson.

Image: iPhone via Shutterstock