Square Announces Plans to Accept Apple Pay

While we were all reeling from the September 9 reveal of both the iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch, the company’s announcement of its Apple Pay service was potentially much more important. The NFC payment feature is gathering steam quickly, and could transform the way retail establishments do business at the cash register – and it seems that other tech-based payment companies have taken notice.

Today, Square founder Jack Dorsey told CNN Money that the company has plans to begin accepting Apple Pay by next year.

Said Dorsey:

“We’re not building a credit card. We’re not building a payment device. We’re building a register, and this register accepts all these forms of payments.”

It’s a smart move on Square’s part considering that its service is often the option chosen by cafes or shops that eschew a traditional card reader in favor of an iPad and a Square dongle. Apple announced two new iPads this past October – the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3, and both are equipped with NFC chips that are going to be used for Apple Pay transactions. Square will need to work with Apple on getting its software to gain access to these chips so users can wave their iPhones or Apple Watches at Square-equipped iPads in 2015.

Moreover, don’t be surprised to learn that other mobile register options – from PayPal to Groupon to Amazon – will follow Sqauare’s lead here. There are very few edges that these services can provide a lot of the time, meaning that if one can offer a service that the others can’t, it’ll pull way ahead. The main hurdle to Square’s plan to offer Apple Pay support, of course, is that it’ll be up to retailers who rely on Square to upgrade their iPads to take advantage of the new features.

[Source: CNN Money]