USPS Takes Apple Pay Online but Not In-Person

Apple Pay is now accepted by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) online, but for in-person transactions at retail locations, another payment method is needed, according to reports on Monday (Dec. 20).

Although the USPS wasn’t a supporter of Apple Pay, a recent website update showed that the adoption of the payment method is available for most transactions online.

See also: USPS Debuts Paycheck-Cashing Services

Apple Pay can be used to pay for transactions at the digital Postal Store, PO Box Online, Every Door Direct Mail, Click-N-Ship, and USPS Tracking Plus and others, Appleosophy reported.

To use Apple Pay for a purchase, customers must be using Safari version 10.0 or later on a supported iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Read more: Seven Years Later, Only 6% of People with iPhones in the US Use Apple Pay In-Store When They Can

Acceptance of Apple Pay is still a new concept for USPS, and it’s one that is still in progress. But it’s a welcome change for customers trying to deal with getting last-minute holiday packages out the door even though Apple Pay can’t be used at any physical post office.

For USPS to accept Apple Pay at its estimated 34,000 physical locations, there would have to be an overhaul to infrastructure and terminals.

You may also enjoy: Apple Pay at 7: Big Fish in a Small and Shrinking In-Store Mobile Wallet Pond

While Apple Pay has been around for more than seven years, only 4.5% of all consumers use it to make in-store purchases, down 26% from 2020, PYMNTS reported.

Apple Pay is not meeting its market potential, according to PYMNTS research. Although users spent $91.7 billion in stores this year, the total dollar value of all eligible Apple Pay transactions could be as high as $1.5 trillion.