If You Build It, They Will Apple Pay: Exploring Digital Wallets

Recently my family was visiting my brother and his family, and we ordered a bunch of pizza for all of us. Since I didn’t have any cash on hand, I offered to Venmo him some cash and was stunned when he refused. He told me that he only uses Apple Pay and gave me a bunch of reasons for his choice. (I’m pretty sure it’s just because he is an Apple fanboy.) He even said that he would rather pay for all the pizza than accept a Venmo payment.

Don’t worry, I was able to set up an Apple Pay account and all family drama was averted. My brief pizza encounter is a small version of what your institution is likely to face with your borrowers. And how I solved my problem is exactly how you should solve yours.

Give Them What They Want

We’ve always been told that the customer is always right. And if you want to keep the customers you have, and get the customers you don’t, you better believe it. If you have an Apple fanboy or a Google devotee using your services, you would be wise to offer them what they want. And recently one of our clients did just that.

Apples and Googles

Our client realized that many of their current and prospective customers wanted to be able to make loan payments using Apple Pay and Google Pay so they contacted us, and we immediately got to work. We integrated the new payment methods into our existing GOLDAccount Center API and, voila, the client was able to offer even more ways to pay loans to their customers (and all the fanboys and fangirls cheered).

Identify the Fanboys

Maybe your borrowers aren’t die-hard Apple aficionados or Google enthusiasts, but what are they? More and more people want to do all their business online and some are very brand loyal. They are comfortable with making payments using their current payment tool. And it’s up to your business to figure out which payment tools are hot, and which are not, and then offer the right ones. Maybe it’s PayPal or Samsung Pay. Perhaps Chase Pay, Amazon Pay, or Walmart Pay will be the next big thing. Did you even know there were so many digital wallets out there? How many does your business accept? Do you need to accept more?

Some of the Major Players

To help you know more about the digital wallets out there, we’ve compiled a list of some of the major players.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is Apple’s proprietary digital wallet and it can be used on most Apple devices (phones, watches, and some iPads). It can be used to make online payments, person-to-person transactions, in-app purchases, and, most importantly for COVID-19 time, contactless payments. Apple Pay is the reigning king of digital wallets but who knows when it will be dethroned.

Google Pay

In January of 2017 Google combined Android Pay and Google Wallet into Google Pay. It took the in-store smartphone payment abilities of Android Pay and combined it with the online payments, in-app purchases, and person-to-person transactions capacity of Google Wallet. Google Pay is definitely a major player.

Samsung Pay

Samsung Pay was launched by Samsung in 2015 and is compatible with most Samsung smartphones. One major difference between Samsung Pay and other digital wallets is Samsung’s ability to pay using traditional non-contactless terminals. But since more and more stores are upgrading their terminals, this advantage may soon go away. Samsung Pay allows you to pay in-person, in-app, and online.

PayPal

PayPal began as an internet-based digital wallet used to pay for purchases from websites. In 2016 it signed agreements with Mastercard and First Data to allow customers to use the PayPal App or a PayPal Mastercard to make contactless purchases in store. Now PayPal can be used to buy online or in stores, send money, and request money. PayPal is huge in the online purchases world.

Chase Pay

Chase Pay works on both Apple and Android devices but is limited to Chase Visa cards. Chase lets you make payments online and in apps. JPMorgan discontinued its Chase Pay app that allowed users to pay with their smartphones in stores, but users can still use Chase Pay to make online and in-app payments. Chase Pay might be slowly dying or perhaps they’ll make a miraculous comeback. Only time will tell.

Amazon Pay

Amazon Pay specializes in online payments. Shoppers can make payments using their Amazon account and avoid having to create a new account or enter credit card information. In addition, customers can make payments via voice with Amazon Pay for Alexa Skills.

Walmart Pay

Walmart Pay is Walmart’s addition to the mobile wallet playing field. Unlike many other wallets, Walmart Pay uses QR codes instead of a tap-to-pay function in stores. Walmart Pay works with both Apple and Android phones. Currently Walmart Pay is only used at Walmart stores but who knows when Walmart will officially jump into the fray. It could get interesting.

In our increasingly digital world, businesses need to be dynamic. They need to identify the trends and ride with them. Ten years ago, did you know that Amazon would become the colossus that it is today? Did you know that people would prefer buying toys, computers, kitchen appliances, and even clothes online? The same thing is happening in the financial industry. Consumers want digital and they want lots of choices. Appealing to the fanboys is just one more way to get consumers to choose your business. Make their choice an easy one.