Apple pay was launched as a payment service for all iOS devices and it allows shoppers to pay for goods and services using their smartphones. Instead of carrying out the credit card, you can store the credit card details in the Apple Passbook and use it in any store that uses a mobile payment terminal. Before choosing Apple Pay as your payment terminal, consider the following pros and cons.
Pros:
1. Compatibility: Apple pay is compatible with the major banks and supports all credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, AmEx, among others. It has a user-friendly interface making it easy to use.
2. Secure: Apple pay minimizes the risk of your credit card information being stolen. It doesn’t need credit card details to process payment rather it uses a device account number thus making your credit details more secure.
3. Easy to use: It has a simple user interface. Your smartphone can easily read your fingerprints and let you click ok to authenticate the payment. Biometric security features are easier to use.
4. Private transaction: Once you use Apple Pay, the retailers will not be able to track your private information like credit card details, address, and others. No information is stored for your transaction.
5. No risk of stolen credit cards: You don’t need to carry your credit cards everywhere you go. Although the phone can get lost, the find my device feature can help to relocate the device in case someone steals it and make payment with it.
6. Free of charge: Credit card payments, PayPal payments, and banks charge a transaction fee. Apple pay is free of charge thus, retailers will be able to sell goods or services without any fee charges.
7. No internet connection: You don’t need an internet connection for you to use Apple Pay. It can be used everywhere and does not accumulate any roaming charges. It can also be used when your phone is in airplane mode.
8. Convenience: We always have the phone next to us wherever we go. Thus, we can easily use the phone to make payments.
9. Load all in one place: You can load your debit, credit, loyalty, and gift cards into your phone. Gyft and Stocard apps allow you to load your loyalty and gift cards into your phone wallet app.
10. Quick mode of payment: It is the fastest mode of payment and once payment is processed, you get a verification notification on your phone for the transaction.
Cons:
1. Limited use: Apple pay is available in iPhone 6 and above and iPad 2 or higher versions
2. Acceptance: Not all retailers use mobile payment terminals thus, you have to carry your wallet to do shopping.
3. Software failure: Sometimes a software release bug can affect the running of the payment gateway or any other problem with the installed software.
4. Pop-up texts: An embarrassing text can pop up on the phone screen when making the payment.
5. Tech hitches: In some countries, the payment machine has had issues resulting in failure while processing payments.
6. No online shopping support: You can use it at various stores or buy apps from the app store but the platform doesn’t support online shopping.
7. Reliability: Apple pay can only be used when your iOS device is on. Otherwise, you can’t rely on it if your phone is off.
8. Adoption: It is difficult to get the shoppers and retailers to use it. Shoppers need to have iPhone 6 and above whereas retailers need NFC terminal support.
9. Higher fees: There are critics that it will result in higher charges since credit card companies may stop sharing the fees with Apple.
10. Cost of training and upgrading: With changes in technology, you have to keep training your staff on how to use it. The cost of upgrading the system is also high.
