Apple's contactless payment through Tap to Pay technology, an exclusive Apple feature, has expanded its support as they integrate with PayPal and Venmo iOS apps.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 14: In this photo illustration, an iPhone is used to make an Apple Pay purchase at The Post Office on July 14, 2015 in London, England. From today iPhone and Apple Watch owners can use their device to pay for purchases at retailers who support the new mobile wallet service Apple Pay. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
(Photo : Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 14: In this photo illustration, an iPhone is used to make an Apple Pay purchase at The Post Office on July 14, 2015 in London, England. From today iPhone and Apple Watch owners can use their device to pay for purchases at retailers who support the new mobile wallet service Apple Pay.
Tap to Pay with PayPal and Venmo
Based on a report from The Verge, Apple will now be supporting different online payment systems other than Apple Pay. PayPal and Venmo will now be supported by the Tap to Pay technology which is exclusively available to iPhones, Apple Watches, and other devices from the company.
Through this announcement, several merchants will now be able to accept contactless payments not only to Apple Pay but also to the additional payment systems.
The announcement was made during PayPal's update to investors for its third-quarter earnings for this year. Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman stated that working with Apple is one of its "strategic initiatives and business updates" in the market.
PayPal presented three components as they integrate with Apple, which includes that (1) Venmo and PayPal will now be supported with Tap to Pay feature, (2) adding Apple Pay to PayPal's checkout flows as a payment option on merchant platforms (as well as PayPal Commerce Platform), and (3) the ability of US customers to add PayPal and Venmo network-branded credit and debit cards to Apple Wallet where they can also use in any Apple Pay-supported merchants.
The ability to include Apple Pay as a payment option to checkout with PayPal will increase Apple Pay's visibility and availability for purchases on the different online stores, as reported by 9To5Mac. But the report also stated that despite these big changes to both platforms, the implementation might still be limited once it is released.
Aside from Apple, PayPal also expanded to Amazon as the company added Venmo as a payment option to the online retail store.
The Tap to Pay technology of Apple was originally released in February and is currently available to several merchants including Apple Stores and Square-Supported outlets.
For a contactless payment transaction to be successful, the user needs to hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near the merchant's iPhone for them to pay. This was possible through the help of NFC technology.
If you will see an apple symbol and an Apple Pay logo in stores, this means that Apple Pay is accepted there. But despite being available to several countries, the availability of Apple's payment system is still limited to 74 countries (mostly from Europe and North America).
Just this August, Apple Pay was recently launched in Malaysia, with the support of some of the country's banks and credit and debit card networks.
Apple Pay and Apple Wallet Vice President Jennifer Bailey stated that this launch brings Malaysia a much more secure way to pay with the use of Apple devices.
