Apple Pay has been extended to businesses in Australia
Small businesses using Xero can now accept invoice payments using Apple Pay.
Apple Pay has moved beyond consumer payments and is now available to small businesses, with SMEs using cloud accounting software Xero now being able to offer Apple Pay as an invoice payment option. The new feature is being offered by Xero through mobile payments provider Stripe, which already allows for credit and debit card payment as well as PayPal.
CTO of Xero Craig Walker said mobile payments are the way of the future.
"By enabling these connections with payment services, small businesses are able to offer multiple payment options on an invoice, giving them and their customers choice of payment and also the ability to pay the invoice as soon as it arrives, ensuring they get paid faster," he said.
This statement alludes to the late payment problem that has been affecting so many Australian SMEs. A recent survey by MYOB has found that 77% of businesses are impacted by late payments, which can be delayed as long as 60 days.
Globally, Australia has the longest waiting period for invoices to be paid, with invoices being an average of 24.6 days overdue. The next closest country out of the 80 countries that were included was Mexico with 18.6 days, followed by South Africa with 16.5 days.
Walker said Xero's new future will help small businesses receive invoices faster.
"Attaching a payment option to online invoices helps Xero customers get paid almost 80% faster than invoices that don’t use a payment service - so they spend less time chasing unpaid invoices for a more productive and cash healthy business."
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