Fiserv Lets Small Businesses Offer Apple Tap to Pay

Fiserv will allow merchants to tap into increased demand for contactless transactions.

The payments company announced in a Monday (April 24) news release it has integrated its Clover point-of-sale (POS) tool with Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone.

“Small businesses want to streamline their operations, sell more, and connect with their customers no matter where they are,” said Dan Bjerke, global head of Clover, in the release. “Clover powers omnichannel technology and capabilities that enable us to meet their needs. By enabling Tap to Pay on iPhone, businesses can increase flexibility and expand customer engagement with the efficiency of using a device they already own.”

With the integration, merchants can accept contactless payments via their iPhone and use Clover mobile features such as the ability to link multiple POS devices and securely accept in-store payments.

The integration is happening amid a rise in the use of contactless payment technology. PYMNTS research found that 58% of in-store shoppers in the United Kingdom paid using a contactless card in 2022, leaping 94% year over year.

Digital wallets are following suit, according to “The 2023 Global Digital Shopping Index: U.K. Edition,” a PYMNTS and Cybersource collaboration.

“Much of this growth in digital wallet usage was driven by Apple Pay,” PYMNTS noted in the study. “According to our research, 337% more in-store shoppers paid via Apple Pay in 2022 than one year prior.”

This sharp rise is likely due to Apple Pay raising its spending limit in 2021. Before that in-store shoppers in the U.K. could only use Apple Pay to pay for purchases of up to 45 pounds (about $55), while the new spending limit let them make transactions of up to 100 pounds (about $122).

Fiserv’s tap-to-pay integration is among several similar recent product rollouts.

Last week, web hosting company GoDaddy announced a collaboration with Apple to integrate Tap to Pay on iPhone with its app to allow businesses to accept payments without the need to purchase additional hardware.

Two days later, payments company Square announced it was offering Tap to Pay on Android for sellers in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Ireland, France and Spain.