Apple Pay is a fast, secure way to accept customer payments. In the US alone, more than 65 million people use Apple Pay to make purchases online, in stores, and across thousands of ecommerce apps. Here’s a quick guide to Apple Pay and how to accept it in your physical store and online shop.

What is Apple Pay?

Apple Pay is a mobile payment app your customers can use to make purchases through your online store, in your brick-and-mortar store, or even within your own app, if you have one. It’s one of the features within the Apple Wallet—a digital wallet that lets customers electronically store payment cards and other essential information, like identity cards, event passes, and electronic keys. 

Customers can access Apple Pay from their mobile iOS devices, such as Apple Watch, iPhone, or iPad. To pay on iPhone in a physical store that accepts Apple Pay, a customer does the following:

• Pulls up Apple Wallet on their chosen Apple device by either double-clicking the side of the phone, double-clicking the Home button, or opening the Wallet app

• Authenticates their identity, either with facial recognition, fingerprint scan, or device PIN

• Holds their device against the point-of-sale (POS) machine

• Listens for the confirmation chime 

On a Mac, they can choose Apple Pay at the checkout page, verify their identity, and complete the purchase. On a Windows computer, customers can only use Apple Pay if they’re on a third-party browser and use an iPhone or iPad to scan a QR code from the computer screen. 

As a business using Shopify, you can easily accept Apple Pay payments online or in person. After activating Apple Pay in your account settings, it displays as a payment method in the Payments section of your Shopify Checkout. 

In store, Shopify merchants can use a Shopify POS terminal to accept contactless customer payments (including Apple Pay). You can also download the Tap to Pay on iPhone app, which processes payments directly from an iPhone device. 

Credit card payments vs. Apple Pay

Credit card payments are accepted just about everywhere. Customers can pay with this method by swiping, inserting, or tapping their card against your POS machine, or typing in their card details in your online shop’s checkout page.

The Apple Pay app builds on this process. When a customer sets up their Apple Pay account for the first time, they add at least one credit or debit card, either by typing in the details or uploading photos. From there, customers use Apple Pay for faster, more secure purchases compared to using their physical card. Apple Pay uses near-field communication (NFC) technology to process payments quickly. Plus, customers may save time in the transaction by tapping their iPhone or scanning their Apple Watch, for example, rather than fishing for a card in their physical wallet.

Additionally, Apple Pay uses tokenization to replace sensitive card details with a unique code during each transaction, so actual card numbers are never shared with the business. Customers must pass a biometric authentication check—using Face ID or Touch ID—to complete an Apple Pay transaction. And as long as the buyer’s linked payment source is a credit card, customers won’t miss out on earning any rewards and benefits applicable to their cards. 

If your business already accepts contactless credit card payments, Apple Pay implementation is easy because it works on the same hardware. Most payment processors and terminals already support contactless payments with little to no extra setup.

How can a business accept Apple Pay?

1. Find a credit card processor
2. Gather your point-of-sale tools
3. Make sure Apple Pay is enabled
4. Show you accept Apple Pay

Follow these simple steps to start accepting Apple Pay for your business:

1. Find a credit card processor

If you don’t have one already, find a credit card processor that supports Apple Pay. A card processor is a company that facilitates electronic payments between you, your customer’s bank, and the card network. Shopify Payments, Stripe, Square, PayPal, Worldpay, and Chase Payment Solutions support this payment method. They may also offer NFC-enabled terminals or online checkout integration. 

2. Gather your point-of-sale tools 

Before you can accept Apple Pay transactions, you need a few essential tools:

• A payment gateway, which is a service that captures and encrypts a customer’s payment information and sends it from your checkout page to the credit card processor. 

• A point-of-sale (POS) system, which is software for processing customer transactions. It’s often paired with hardware like credit card readers and receipt printers if you accept payments in person. 

Some POS systems allow you to process transactions in different channels—such as in person, in an online shop, and in your app—but not all. To accept all types of payments, you’ll need a POS system that has ecommerce capabilities or integrates with an online checkout platform. 

Shopify, for example, acts as both a payment and point-of-sale (POS) provider across different channels. You can use Shopify Payments to process online and in-person credit card transactions and a Shopify POS system to scan those payments (including Apple Pay payments), track sales, and manage inventory across physical locations. 

3. Make sure Apple Pay is enabled

To enable Apple Pay online, your website must use a secure connection. Look for “https” in your URL—the “s” stands for secure. If you use Shopify Payments, Apple Pay is automatically enabled in your digital shop once you meet this requirement. 

Other sellers can enable Apple Pay by working with a payment gateway or processor that supports Apple Pay, such as Stripe or Square. You’ll need to set up an account with one of these providers, enable Apple Pay in your dashboard, and verify your domain. Then your provider will guide you through the process of adding Apple Pay as a payment option to your checkout, typically using JavaScript or plugin integrations.

For in-store payments, check that Apple Pay is enabled in your processor’s settings. In most cases, no special configuration is needed—Apple Pay works as long as your hardware and payment processor support it.

4. Show you accept Apple Pay

Put the word out there that you have joined the ranks of merchants who accept Apple Pay. Put up a little sign on your shop counter, and let website visitors know. If you have a frequently asked questions section of your site that covers payment methods, note that you accept Apple Pay there.