What Apple Pay Means for Retailers

Finally, in a well-written blog post published yesterday by Custora, a predictive analytics platform provider, the author laid out what Apple Pay means for retailers.

The fact that Apple Pay lets consumers pay directly with their phone "offers convenience, speed and security," the blog post noted. "The Apple Touch ID mechanism is a clever way to bypass Amazon’s one-click patent … and can make those terrible payment forms all but disappear from online retailers’ sites."

Custora also said that retailers now have more choices when it comes to accepting payments. "Between PayPal, Amazon Payments and Apple Pay, online retailers have a choice," the blog post said. "Competition is good for retailers (and consumers), and might lead to decreased fees and improved profit margins for online retailers."

In addition, the blog said that over time "Apple might offer exclusive deals and promotions with retailers, which will make Apple Pay even more attractive to consumers. Apple said it's not keeping any transaction data in its own database — it all goes directly to the retailer. It will be interesting to see if that changes in the future."