JPMorgan just launched a new payment platform for merchant clients that could help scale the availability of contactless payments at US retailers.
The platform, called Tap to Pay, allows merchants without card readers such as Square or Clover to accept payments via iPhone.
“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,” Takis Georgakopoulos, global head of payments for JPMorgan, said in a statement.
Chris Uriarte, a payments expert and partner at consulting firm Glenbrook, told Retail Brew that contactless payment technology is “enabling merchants to accept payments at the point of sale without any proprietary hardware whatsoever.”
This ability is apparently what appealed to Sephora, which is now rolling out Tap to Pay across all its freestanding US stores.
“It’s a win-win,” Stefan Jensen, VP and treasurer at Sephora, said in a statement. “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.”
JPMorgan’s offering is similar to other contactless options on the market, Uriarte added, but the bank’s wide reach among merchants makes the launch notable.
“They’re a major, major merchant acquirer, so their support of this essentially brings support to a very large portion of merchants here in the US,” he said.
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