Apple Pay and Square join forces in bringing mobile payment processing to small businesses
Word has it Apple has a new ally, an unlikely friend that promises to open Apple Pay’s mobile payment platform to small businesses. Square founder Jack Dorsey, owner of the popular favorite in the small business world, is in talks to integrate Apple Pay, in a move that may come as a surprise, but really isn’t.
Square has been working on EMV chip readers for some time, and these new devices will be capable to accept the brand new chip card standard, with a strong chance for Apple Pay support as well. Dorsey went on record to say that Square is "a [cash] register, and this register accepts all these forms of payments".
What about Android?
Does this mean Android users will be able to use Apple Pay? Nothing really comes to mind about this notion that would hurt Apple’s bottom-line, ergo, why not? This possibility becomes even more real as Apple Pay’s ubiquitous nature allows it to function with NFC hardware already existing on most non-iOS devices.
Deployment of the digital payment system through dedicated apps would certainly ascertain Apple’s dominance in the mobile payments world, by becoming a favorite by small business, as well as sole proprietors, a category that is growing at a staggering rate, worldwide.
How far is Apple willing to open its platform, is really up to the numbers, and whether or not allowing non-iOS devices to use Apple Pay might somehow hurt Apple iPhone sales in the future. Yet this might be unlikely, as opening up the platform means passing the cost of production of NFC hardware onto the manufacturers, while Apple cashes in on every transaction, no matter where it occurs, which is really the question begging for an answer, should this deal stand the test of time.
The big picture
This is where Square becomes a key player in the game. With built-in compatibility of Apple Pay, existing Square users with Android phones will be able to use Apple Pay through the Square App.
In such scenario, will Square be allowed to integrate other mobile payment systems? What about Google Wallet? What about Stripe, or any number of processors that might be looking to get into the game?
When considering that the future of mobile payments is barely in its infancy, Apple is very likely to reach a point where profits and popularity could be split in two separate outcomes, depending on how big Apple decides to become, in mobile payments.
For a corporation that is worth more than the entire Russian stock exchange, the step to becoming its own banking institution may very well be a matter of choice, and one that begins now, by teaming up with a very popular and time-tested mobile payment company, and its massive user base.