This app could change how businesses accept credit cards
Businesses can use Tap2App to accept card payments via a smartphone to avoid merchant fees.
A new payments app from US fintech startup xPressTap could change the way businesses accept payments in Australia in the near future. This is because the Tap2App app transforms any near field communication (NFC) enabled smartphone into a virtual card reader.
This means that cardholders could use their card or smartphone, by means of digital wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, to tap and go at your checkout. It does this without any additional hardware, which sets it apart from traditional EFTPOS terminals or the newer Square reader.
As well as increasing the convenience of setting up tap and pay capability, the Tap2App app could also help businesses reduce their merchant fees by 25%.
In an interview with the AFR, founder Joe Lynam said he’s launching Tap2App in Australia first because of our widespread use of contactless technology. This is no real surprise to us. Card has recently overtaken cash as Australia’s favourite way to pay and we were given the title of world leaders in contactless payment technology in 2016.
The startup has two patents and three international PCT patents pending for the app and apparently, it’s compatible with all major contactless payment card brands including Mastercard PayPass, Visa payWave, American Express Expressway, China UnionPay and QuickPass. XPressTap also told AFR that it has secured a partnership with one of Australia’s Big Four banks, although it was unable to confirm exactly which one.
Once it does launch in Australia, the Tap2App app has serious potential to threaten existing EFTPOS and Square contactless terminals. Designed to suit everyone from small businesses and micro merchants to large retail merchants, Lynam believes that eliminating the hardware element of contactless payments is a unique value proposition for Australian businesses.
While this won't have too much of an impact on the average consumer, you may find that more of your local cafes and retailers are accepting contactless payments via a smartphone rather than an EFTPOS terminal in the coming months.
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