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One Touch Payment Using Apple Pay

Apple Pay iconWe got to do something exciting at Hop Studios last month: We set up Apple Pay for a client! (If that doesn’t sound exciting to you, maybe you’re not a Web developer with a giant crush on Apple. We’re hopeless here.)

Apple Pay is Apple’s new payment system. It’s integrated into all Apple devices that have a fingerprint scanner—phones, iPads, Apple computers. Once users set up their existing credit or debit cards in Apple Pay, payment can be made instantly by activating Apple Pay, either by holding the iOS device near a physical register, or online by using an Apple device and the Safari browser.

There are two major advantages to Apple Pay. First, it’s very, very fast. The transaction can literally be completed with a single finger touch. In person, that’s handy, but online, that means you get to skip filling out multiple form fields with credit card details, which is pretty great. So now, instead of the smartphone being a tricky way to get someone to pay, it’s actually a faster way. Second, because of how Apple Pay works, the user never shares their actual card information with the merchant: If the merchant gets compromised, no credit card number is in their system to be stolen.

Speed is great, security paired with speed is even better.

We built this Apple Pay donation system for our long-time client Sam Harris. Visitors to Sam’s site could already make donations using PayPal or a credit card. Now they have a third option: Apple Pay.

imageThe method is pretty obvious on a smartphone. And here’s how it works when making a donation from a Mac using Safari:

  1. After filling in your name and email, and selecting a payment amount, you chose Apple Pay as the payment method.
  2. A notification window pops up, where you select the card to use from those you’ve registered in Apple Pay.
  3. At the same time, your phone (always close at hand!), buzzes and displays a payment screen.
  4. One touch on the home button, and the transaction is complete.

The results have been encouraging. Visitors began using Apple Pay almost immediately. We don’t know how many visitors could use Apple Pay (but don’t). And we don’t know how many people use Apple Pay but would have been just as happy to use another system.  But we do know that Apple Pay donations are higher, on average, than Pay Pal or regular credit cards.  This could be simply a different demographic than the overall donation level, but we’re seeing a steady stream of users already.

Thanks, Sam, for the opportunity to try something new and innovative!

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