Beauty chain Sephora has started rolling out Tap to Pay on iPhone across its stores in the U.S. following an announcement that J.P. Morgan Payments has made the feature available for its merchant clients.
The solution, which will be expanded to more businesses over the next year, allows merchants to accept contactless payments using their iPhones, without the need for a dedicated payments card reader or additional hardware.
Apple first announced plans to introduce Tap to Pay on iPhone for merchants in the U.S. in February 2022. The feature was then introduced to the UK in June when Revolut and Tyl by NatWest became the first payment platforms to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone to their U.K. business customers.
Merchants who adopt the solution can accept contactless payments with only an iPhone, without a physical terminal. A key benefit is that it gives merchants the more flexibility to accept payments anywhere in-store or on the move as long as there is Wi-Fi or cellular service.
Takis Georgakopoulos, Global Head of Payments, J.P. Morgan said, “Enhancing the ability for consumers to pay with their preferred method of payment is part of our broader, customer-centric approach to simplify omnichannel payment acceptance for our merchant clients. As consumer payment needs continue to rapidly evolve, this is a significant demonstration of our ability to innovate at scale to support our merchant clients through this ongoing transformation.”
With Tap to Pay on iPhone, Sephora’s Beauty Advisors can accept contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets anywhere in the store simply by using their iPhone and the mobile Point of Sale App. No additional hardware is needed.
Stefan Jensen, Vice President, Treasurer, at Sephora said: “Tap to Pay on iPhone allows our Beauty Advisors to complete contactless transactions easily with only an iPhone—anywhere in the store. It’s a win-win: our customers get a transparent and secure transaction without waiting in a long queue, and our Beauty Advisors have more freedom to build meaningful connections with our shoppers.”
Max Neukirchen, Global Head of Payments & Commerce Solutions, J.P. Morgan Payments added: “Giving consumers the ability to simply tap-and-go is very exciting. This solution means our merchants don’t need to worry about certain pain-points like card reader Bluetooth connectivity, terminal power charging or manually entering card information. This will bring a truly flexible checkout process which is great for merchants and customers alike.”
