Apple Pay is set for UK shores this coming summer, with a myriad of high street banks and retailers already signed up as partners.
Announced yesterday at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, the service will allows users to pay for products and services with a combination of mobile wallet and fingerprint authentication.
With many in the industry heralding the arrival of Apple Pay as the beginning of a retail revolution, CBR asked the experts their thoughts on the arrival of Apple’s mobile payment service.
1. Major step in transforming the world of payments
Simon Black, CEO at PPRO Group, said:
"It has been announced that Apple Pay is finally coming to the UK at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference yesterday. Its introduction in the US has already encouraged the mobile payment industry to adapt at a faster rate – with giants such as Google and Samsung also throwing their hats into the ring.
"While it is true that mobile payments is still in its infancy, the explosive growth of contactless payments in the past 18 months means that in a few short years from now, payments via smart devices are likely to be just as commonplace as paying by cash, debit or credit card today.
"One of the most significant updates to Apple Pay announced yesterday is the rebranding of the Passbook app to Wallet. This is a big statement of intent from Apple to replace the physical wallet – a major step forward in transforming the world of payments. With this and the impending July launch of Apple Pay in mind, I predict that the UK, and London specifically, will be at the forefront of the evolution from physical wallets to virtual wallets that replace payment cards, loyalty cards, Oyster cards, plane tickets and much more.
"As a result we can expect to see cash used less and less over the coming years until it will eventually become obsolete in most places by 2025."
2. Apple wins a head-start
Anthony Duffy, director of retail banking in UK & Ireland at Fujitsu
"Apple Pay’s announcement that it will land in the UK this summer is exciting and to be welcomed. It is likely to act as a major stimulus in the development of electronic wallets in Britain. It will also provide Apple with a head start over rivals Android Pay and Samsung Pay, neither of which have announced plans yet to enter the UK market.
"Those who are already familiar with using contactless payments will soon find that using an electronic wallet via their mobile phone is a simple and logical next step. Indeed, the growth in contactless payments is already growing and looks set to accelerate further, driven by three key developments – increased consumer comfort in using non-traditional payment options; a continued shift to internet shopping; and the appearance of new, additional payment options such as Apple Pay.
"However, others may be concerned by perceived security issues. For this reason, the industry will look to continue its twin approaches of deploying state-of-the art security and communicating its risk mitigation approaches to both current and prospective users. Apple Pay has elected to deploy finger print technology on its mobile phones, while, at Fujitsu, we believe that iris recognition technologies offer the ultimate form of protection".
3. Customer engagement gets personalised
Georges Berzgal, Managing Director of Bronto Europe, said:
"Personalised customer engagement – always a key aim for retailers – will also be bolstered via Apple Pay and by m-payments more broadly. Brands will be in a stronger position to identify and analyse shopping habits amongst their m-payment customers, and develop useful and targeted messages as a result.
"Take email receipts for example; consumers who adopt m-payments are more likely to embrace e-receipts as they are more comfortable with the role of technology in their transactions. Brands are able to use a portion of e-receipt space for promotional content, and retailers will be quick to capitalise on this, and re-engage customers post-purchase.
"As Apple Pay launches in the UK with a strong roster of banks on board, alongside brands like Liberty London, Dune and New Look, Apple is poised to stimulate a payments transformation within the UK commerce industry."
4. Get ready for the revolution
Spiros Theodossiou, VP of Product Strategy at Skrill, said:
"The payments industry has a lot to thank Apple for – not the least for making a lot of people familiar and comfortable with online payments and digital wallets.
"While Apple Pay has seen slower than anticipated adoption in the US, much of this is due to the far smaller base of places where Apple Pay can be used (contactless terminals) there. The good news for Apple is that the UK has embraced contactless payment methods with 58m contactless cards issued and a 330.8% rise in contactless payments in 2014, according to the UK Cards Association.
"This is just one of multiple disrupting technologies that will impact banking and payments. Whether its mobile devices allowing instant access, or NFC being integrated into phones and wearables, or Facebook offering payments through messenger, payments is set-up for a revolution in the coming years. There is no doubt the relationship consumer have with banks, card schemes, phone manufacturers and technology companies will continue to change."
5. The Holy Grail for Retailers
Gavin Ray, SVP Products & Marketing at ip.access, said:
"While some retailers may fear Apple’s power, consumers love the brand so now is time to embrace an association with it via ApplePay to share the rewards and even leverage them to create new customer relationships. Apple, and Google for that matter, is able to build strong customer relationships through payment solutions and its corresponding data collection.
"To move forward, retailers should be looking to combine their online customer data with their in-store information, and bridge the gap for the consumer, so moving between the digital and physical shopping experience is all but seamless.
"Another element to consider is the millennial customers, who have grown up in the dotcom age, with a smartphone in their hand and social media at their fingertips. Traditional retailers need to adapt and adopt rapidly developing technology in order for them to communicate with these customers in the right way. It is time to start opening conversations instead of simply pushing messaging at potential consumers and hoping you understood their needs.
"Ominpresence, or ominchannel, is becoming the Holy Grail for retailers in an era when consumers have more choice about how they shop than ever before. The honey of Apple’s evolution has the potential to attract more consumers than the bitter-lemon that would be rejecting this customer focused new technology."
