14 DAY TRIAL // Office supply chain store Staples has revealed that Apple’s payment system is growing on users of its iOS app. So much so that it has actually become the top payment method, with 30 percent of the purchases being conducted solely through Apple Pay.
Prat Vemana, vice president of Mobile Commerce at Staples, broke the news on Tuesday during a panel discussion hosted by Chetan Sharma Consulting: “Right now it's the number one payment method for us in our iOS apps," Vemana said, adding that Apple Pay was used for 30 percent of purchases made in the Staples iOS app.
Many of the Apple Pay buyers are first timers. According to FierceMobileIT, he revealed that in the first days since launch, Apple Pay was responsible for 65 percent of transactions in the Staples app. He also felt obliged to point out that Apple Pay had been “one of the most successful” payment implementations in Staples’ history.
Apple Pay debuted last year alongside iOS 8. On new-generation iPhones, it uses the Touch ID fingerprint sensor to authenticate transactions, but also NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. On iPads, it only uses the fingerprint sensor, while on the upcoming Apple Watch the user will be required to get their wrist close to the NFC reader and press a button.