Operators weigh-up Apple Pay potential
William Hill and Betfred among those exploring new contactless payments service which launches in the UK today
A number of major operators are preparing to integrate Apple’s new mobile payment service Apple Pay which went live in the UK today, eGaming Review understands.
Although no major operator has yet integrated the service, William Hill and Betfred both confirmed that they are looking at Apple Pay to eGR and the one-touch payment service could be up and running within weeks.
“There are a number of new payment methods either available now, or in the near future, including Apple Pay and it would be damaging for any operator with an online presence to ignore them,” Stuart Magowan, Betfred head of mobile development, told eGR.
“We examine any new technology and listen to our customers before committing anything to our development stream, but we are aware of the opportunities this payment option may bring,” he added.
Apple Pay launched in the US last October, while Google is developing its own payment service, Android Pay, which is expected to be launched later this year.
While most of the headlines have focused on Apple Pay’s contactless payment method, the one-touch, in-app purchasing functionality will significantly simplify the process of depositing within native applications on mobile devices.
Early concerns that egaming operators may be shut out of Apple Pay appear to have been allayed. While Apple is yet to explicitly permit or prohibit egaming operators, Apple Pay’s developer’s guidelines appear to be in line with its App Store guidelines, which welcome real-money gambling content.
Of more concern will be the £20 transaction limit which will cap one-touch purchasing online to smaller deposit amounts, a complaint previously aimed at direct carrier billing.
But with deposit abandonment rates high on mobile operators and users comfortable with using the iOS ecosystem for payments operators may find it difficult to ignore the new option.