Financial infrastructure platform, Stripe has introduced Tap to Pay on Android for in-person contactless payments across businesses in six countries.
The company announced that the service has been made available in beta through Stripe Terminal in the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore
The decision follows a recent Stripe survey that found that 65% of businesses plan to prioritise a unified in-person and online checkout experience this year, while according to a recent industry report, 64% of shoppers prefer brands with an online and in-store presence.
Alternative to dedicated card readers
The firm said the Tap to Pay feature will provide an alternative to Stripe Terminal’s dedicated card readers, by allowing businesses to turn compatible Android devices into contactless mobile card readers with no additional hardware required. It will support transactions made with mobile payments like Google Pay, as well as Mastercard, Visa, and American Express debit and credit cards.
“Stripe’s launch of Tap to Pay on Android puts contactless payments hardware into the pockets of millions of businesses around the world. Now any business can set up in-person checkout in minutes,”said John Affaki, Terminal business lead at Stripe on the announcement.
One business that has recently adopted Tap to Pay on Android with Stripe is Squire, a barbershop business management platform. The idea of using the software was to make it easier for barbershops to accept in-person payments, by customising in-person checkouts without the need for traditional point-of-sale hardware.
“We’re constantly working to improve the current payment experience and make it as seamless as possible,” said Aram Muradyan, head of product at Squire, adding that its mobile teams had implemented Tap to Pay on Android phones in just two weeks with minimal resources.
Accepting in-person payments anywhere
In another case, FareHarbor implemented Tap to Pay for its core business, which provides activity and booking software for tour operators.
Speaking about the benefits of increased flexibility and the ability to accept in-person payments anywhere, Dominique Oosthuizen, product manager at FareHarbor said, “Whether our clients are meeting guests at check-in or wrapping up a tour, they only need to carry their phones to accept payments. The broad device compatibility and the affordable price points of Android devices are meaningful value drivers.”
Through Terminal, Tap to Pay is fully integrated with the rest of Stripe, so businesses can manage in-person and online payments in one place. Both Terminal and Tap to Pay are also fully compatible with Stripe Connect, the company added.
