PayPal has announced today the launch of “Tap to Pay” for merchants using an iPhone via the Venmo and Zettle applications in the U.S. PayPal, the owner of both Venmo and Zettle, states that the feature will enable businesses to accept contactless card and digital wallet payments directly on their iPhones at no additional cost or hardware. The launch comes eight months after PayPal introduced the feature for merchants with Android phones.
In addition to being able to accept payments from cards or digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay, Tap to Pay allows merchants to add charges, accept tips, send receipts, and issue refunds without any additional hardware. The company says that funds from sales are instantly deposited into a business’s Venmo or PayPal Zettle account. PayPal charges 2.29% + 9¢ for each transaction through the tap-to-pay method across Zettle and Venmo.
With Tap to Pay on iPhone, Venmo business profile users will be able to compete for customers by accepting payments from buyers even if they do not have a Venmo account. Merchants can manage both their Venmo and card payment transactions directly within the Venmo app.
The official launch of the feature comes a few months after PayPal began testing it through an early access program.
The launch of the new feature comes two years after PayPal rival Stripe became Apple’s most significant payment partner for Tap to Pay. A year later, Stripe enabled businesses to conduct Tap to Pay transactions on NFC-enabled Android devices as well. Stripe charges $0.10 per transaction for Tap to Pay purchases using its Stripe payment gateway, with additional fees for card and digital wallet payments.
As consumers are increasingly going cashless, PayPal states that Tap to Pay on iPhone will help millions of small businesses adapt to the change in consumer behavior, as it eliminates the need for merchants to purchase card readers.
By Andrej Kovacevic
Updated on 23rd April 2024