I stopped counting at 100-the number of emails received in the past week or so ahead of and following the UK launch of Apple Pay, Douglas Blakey writes
I’ve rarely known the like. Much of the PR activity has been breathless to the point of hysterical with a fair amount of industry ignorance thrown in.
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I will resist the temptation to name and shame some of the callers who seemed to be under the impression other firms operating in this space will be cowed or feel threatened by Apple. That has to be Myth number 1: the reality is that Samsung and the telcos will welcome Apple’s phenomenal marketing and PR buzz and the publicity attracted by the Apple launch. It is fair to say that public awareness of the benefits of mobile payments technology and NFC contactless has just been given a huge boost.
Myth number 2 has to relate to security: nice try Daily Mail but anyone and everyone that knows a little about the Apple offering will recognise that Apple’s solution trumps conventional chip and PIN on this front.
Myth number 3 has to be the suggestion that retailers will choose between Apple Pay and say, Zapp. It is not an either or – the retailers will offer multiple payment methods, as they do today and most will do so. Zapp’s service has an advantage of using consumers’ existing bank apps.
The Zapp service is a completely open payment method. Customers do not have to use any particular smartphone device. It is an open initiative that any bank or retailer can join, including Apple.
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By GlobalDataMyth number 4 I would suggest is that Apple has suddenly shaken up and transformed the payments industry. It is not going to do to credit cards what the iPod did for how we consumed music. Apple does not have anything approaching a market leading share of the UK smartphone market; it is not going to turn the payments sector on its head.
Myth 5 is that no other service provider can compete with Apple’s marketing buzz. Apple’s entry into the market is a positive for all concerned – see myth number 1. Zapp’s partner banks and retailers are more than capable of promoting Pay by Bank to their customer base and tapping into the growing public awareness of NFC contactless.
What is not in dispute is that the Apple Pay launch is most propitious. The September increase in the payment limit to £30 provides a further boost to contactless; the 331% rise in contactless in 2014 may well be bettered this year.
Customers ultimately will decide if Apple (and others) really have nailed it with a great user experience.
