Analysis: Apple Pay a new opportunity for operators
The announcement that Apple Pay will launch in the UK next month could prove a major boon for operators if the door is left open to gambling
Apple announced on Monday that Apple Pay will launch in the UK next month, and while the headlines focus on Apple Payâs in-shop contactless payment service, of more interest to egaming operators will be the changes it makes to in-app purchasing on Apple devices.
Available on Apple devices with Touch ID (the iPhone 6 and 6+, iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3), Apple Pay will allow one-touch purchasing in native applications and the early signs suggest gambling transactions may be permitted.
Apple couldnât be reached for comment on whether such payments would be allowed across Apple Pay, but a glance at the published developerâs guidelines suggests a ban is unlikely, especially with egaming apps already allowed in the App Store.
âApps using Apple Pay as a purchasing mechanism may not offer goods or services that violate the law of any territory in which the good or service will be delivered and may not be used for any illegal purpose,â is the only clear guidance given on the nature of apps that will be restricted.
So assuming operators are allowed to integrate Apple Pay, will they move swiftly on the new payment option? There are plenty of signs that they will.
Operators have long grumbled about abandonment rates on attempted mobile deposits, and any solution which reduces these rates will be welcomed with operators already exploring alternate mobile payment options.
Just this week, Camelot integrated Barclays Pingit payment solution in a bid to balance the 60% of traffic its website receives from smartphones and tablets with the 36% of interactive sales it drives across mobile.
And an Apple developer at one major operator told eGR Mobile Intelligence that while it has no formal plans to add Apple Pay at the moment, it is keeping an eye on the situation and has its native applications set up in such a way that integrating Apple Payâs API would not be a massive undertaking.
However, the developer did warn that there will be caps on how much money can be transferred through the one-touch system in any one transaction. For contactless in-shop purchases, banks say that will be around £20, and if one-touch in-app purchases face similar limits that could restrict it from being a game changer.
More will become clear at launch next month, but if Apple Pay makes it easier for mobile punters to get their money online, then operators wonât want to miss out.