Independent UK businesses quickly jump on board with Apple Pay

Posted:
in iPhone edited July 2015
Some independent retailers and app developers in the U.K. are reportedly already adopting Apple Pay, just days after the service became available in the region.

Image Credit: Wall Street Journal
Image Credit: Wall Street Journal


One prominent example is Shoreditch Grind, a London coffee shop, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday. Store manager Alex Ghalleb commented that few customers have tried Apple Pay so far, but he expects it to become an advantage as mobile payments increase in popularity. In August, the shop is planning to launch an app that will allow preorders with any smartphone, not just iPhones.

Flypay, a developer that builds apps for ordering and paying for meals, said that its titles will support Apple Pay in the near future. Meanwhile, payment technology firm Payleven is also working on an Apple Pay-compatible product, and flower delivery service Bloom & Wild is currently accepting in-app transactions via Apple's platform. People wanting to conduct money transfers using the technology can do so through a Transferwise app.

Wireless payments in general are a growing phenomenon in the U.K., although non-cash payment methods only became dominant there in 2014. Apple Pay launched in the region on Monday, and can be used at over 250,000 locations, with card support by a number of major banks.

Back in the U.S., Apple Pay is still largely the domain of big national and regional chains. The company has been trying to encourage independents but without much success. In that realm Apple faces competition from platforms like Square and PayPal, which are tailored to small-scale deployments.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    For our American readers, Shoreditch is the London equivalent of Williamsburg. It's wholly unsurprisingly that the local coffee shops are supporting Apple Pay. I work just up the road and no-one batters an eyelid when I pay for things with my Apple Watch.
  • Reply 2 of 15
    chiachia Posts: 713member
    I'm inclined to believe that Apple Pay may well be the killer app for the Apple Watch.

    From my personal experience it's so much easier to double tap the button on the watch and move watch face to the terminal than to even fumble around getting your wallet out of your pocket. There is the added advantage of avoiding "card clash" where there's more than one contactless card in your wallet or purse.

    I
  • Reply 3 of 15
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    richl wrote: »
    For our American readers, Shoreditch is the London equivalent of Williamsburg. It's wholly unsurprisingly that the local coffee shops are supporting Apple Pay. I work just up the road and no-one batters an eyelid when I pay for things with my Apple Watch.

    As in Fish & Chips or Cricket? Either way it sounds brutal and I am glad no one does either. In fact, I'd definitely bat my eyelid if I ever saw a fellow Brit batter any body part, least of all an eyelid. ;)
  • Reply 4 of 15
    dachardachar Posts: 330member

    I used Apple Pay on the first UK day in Boots The Chemist. The cashier did not know about it but we had no problems when I said it was similar to a contactless payment. She seemed very interested. What I really liked was that this was a small branch of Boots so I was not expecting their technology to be the latest yet it just worked. It is things like this that show how Apple is so much better than others in implementing new technology. 

  • Reply 5 of 15
    davemcm76davemcm76 Posts: 268member
    One of the guys at work tried it in McDonalds on launch day with no issues - now I just need my bank to get their arse in gear and support it... I'm with Halifax who are still "coming soon" :mad:

    Shame it still has the same £20 limit as unsecured contactless cards but there is supposedly an update for the contactless POS terminals (not sure if software or hardware) somewhere in the works to remove this...
  • Reply 6 of 15
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member

    Sadly, acceptance in Shoreditch is not something that will endear you to the rest of the nation.

     

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shoreditch twat

  • Reply 7 of 15
    inotropeinotrope Posts: 14member
    Very surprised that it works in our hospital canteen! Obviously not a a national chain, and quite a long way from London Town!

    Very impressed with ApplePay so far.
  • Reply 8 of 15
    of course the small American retailers are not already there in droves, that is because of the issue with upgrading terminals.

    any electronic payment point you order from a bank in Australia comes ready for it, the only barrier to any retailer accepting Apple Pay here is a phone call to the bank saying they want a new terminal

    I clarify, from my trip to the USA last year I noticed that a) even pay by card swipe was far from universal with even visa/MasterCard not always an option over AMEX and b) the payment device was often integrated into their POS system, not an independent device.
  • Reply 9 of 15
    poksipoksi Posts: 482member

    Barclay's, burn in hell !!  :mad:

  • Reply 10 of 15
    brakkenbrakken Posts: 687member
    When is ApplePay joining other countries? AppleWatch can start earning more of its keep!
  • Reply 11 of 15
    softekysofteky Posts: 136member
    When I asked my local diner owner (Brooklyn, NY) why he did not have Apple-Pay, he replied it would cost him $1000 to get a reader. He currently has a phone-connected swipe terminal.

    Regardless of how accurate the owner's statement was, Apple need to give these terminals away, then watch (pun intended) the technology take off.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    softeky wrote: »
    When I asked my local diner owner (Brooklyn, NY) why he did not have Apple-Pay, he replied it would cost him $1000 to get a reader. He currently has a phone-connected swipe terminal.

    Regardless of how accurate the owner's statement was, Apple need to give these terminals away, then watch (pun intended) the technology take off.
    I would not be astonished if Google offered discounted terminals at some point. Apple doing so would be a tad more surprising IMHO.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    A lot of UK shops have contactless terminals already so should be good to go for Apple Pay. I used my Apple Watch to pay for a few bits in my local corner shop without a problem. I think the main issue is educating all the shop staff - and it looks like it's the consumers doing the educating rather than the shops' management!
  • Reply 14 of 15
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    davemcm76 wrote: »
    One of the guys at work tried it in McDonalds on launch day with no issues - now I just need my bank to get their arse in gear and support it... I'm with Halifax who are still "coming soon" :mad:

    Shame it still has the same £20 limit as unsecured contactless cards but there is supposedly an update for the contactless POS terminals (not sure if software or hardware) somewhere in the works to remove this...

    They require a software update to accept Apple Pay as an ID checked payment type rather than a standard contact less payment. Once this is rolled out the limit is removed for Apple Pay.
  • Reply 15 of 15
    softeky wrote: »
    When I asked my local diner owner (Brooklyn, NY) why he did not have Apple-Pay, he replied it would cost him $1000 to get a reader. He currently has a phone-connected swipe terminal.

    Regardless of how accurate the owner's statement was, Apple need to give these terminals away, then watch (pun intended) the technology take off.

    i am surprised that the readers are not owned by the bank like they are in Australia and so given for free (for a small rental) but I confirm that is what I observed in the USA as well
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