How Apple Pay Is Poised to Transform the Trillion-Dollar Service Industry Huge consumer businesses quickly accepted Apple's new payment system but less tech-savvy small businesses might have the most to gain.
By Sam Madden Edited by Dan Bova
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Apple Pay is beginning to transform certain large consumer-facing industries, such as retail and food services. Walgreens, Whole Foods, McDonalds and many more have hitched their payment systems to Apple, expecting Apple Pay to be the future of how consumers pay for things.
But Apple Pay has yet to touch the $1 trillion industry independent service industry. Micro business owners have yet to adopt Apple Pay as a mode of payment, mainly because solopreneurs don't have (nor need) in-store hardware that accepts Apply Pay. Business apps are focused on bringing Apple Pay to the service industry, and usage is expected to explode in this market for four basic and powerful reasons.
Related: 4 Reasons Why Your App Should Jump on the Apple Pay Bandwagon
1. Customer convenience.
Consumer adoption of Apple Pay has been huge so far, as its one-touch thumbprint ID is the most convenient way to pay. Within its first month, Apple Pay captured a 1.7 percent share of the mobile payments space, even though Apple Pay is only available for iPhone 6 and 6+ users. Transaction volume is expected to grow 172 annually annually over the next five years. Consumers clearly want to use Apple Pay to transact, it's just a matter of which vendors can accept it. Those micro business owners who enable Apple Pay will make their clients happy and will stand out from their peers.
2. Mobile.
Most service business owners -- trainers, cleaners, photographers, handymen, etc. -- are on the go. Many are delivering services to a client's home or a third party location. Carrying around a credit card reader is inconvenient for the business owner and the client. Now that Uber has transformed how you pay for taxis, even taking out your wallet is starting to be tiring for consumers. Mobile usage has now surpassed desktop usage in the U.S. With more and more consumers and businesses on their smartphones each day, mobile payment adoption will follow.
Related: Apple Pay May Be the Creative Leap That Outmaneuvers Samsung
3. Payment security.
Credit card hacking is a huge threat to consumers in the U.S. By October 2015, credit card companies must integrate brand new EMV payment chips into all cards in circulation to prevent security breaches caused from swiping cards. Apple Pay bypasses this swiping security issue altogether, making consumer transactions even more secure with touch ID mobile payments. If you're a business owner with the highest security measures in place, that exudes professionalism and trust when transacting with clients.
4. Brand association.
Intergrating Apple Pay into your business gives you direct brand association with Apple. That brand exudes trust, convenience and quality to your clients. As a consumer, I can't ask for much more from a service business.
Related: Weigh the Benefits and Headaches of Implementing Apple Pay, Then Go For It
