How to Accept Apple Pay and Google Pay (And Why It Makes Sense for Online Stores)

9 min read

As a business owner, it’s important to stay up to date with the technology that can help you run things more efficiently and securely. This is especially true when it comes to receiving payments.

Payment systems like Apple Pay and Google Pay should be on your radar. They are fast, secure, and easy to use.

Here’s an overview of how to accept Apple Pay and Google Pay in your online store—and why that’s a smart move.

What Are Apple Pay and Google Pay?

Apple Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service by Apple. It is available for people who use the Safari browser on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

With 507 million users worldwide, Apple Pay has gained popularity in recent years, reaching 48% of global iPhone users.

Apple Pay usage for online payments as of 2023 (Source: Statista)

Google Pay is a digital wallet platform and online payment system developed by Google. It is available for shoppers who use Android mobile devices or desktop browsers.

Google Pay usage for online payments worldwide as of 2023 (Source: Statista)

When shopping online, customers can pay with Apple Pay and Google Pay in a couple of clicks. They don’t have to re-type their card details and shipping info every time they make a purchase. That information is already stored on their device on either Apple or Google Pay.

At checkout, Apple Pay users only need to choose the Apple Pay option and identify themselves with Touch ID or Face ID to make a purchase. As for Google Pay users, they only need to choose Google Pay at checkout and confirm their order to complete the purchase. That is especially convenient on mobile!

Benefits of Accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay

Accepting Google Pay and Apple Pay in your store is a great way to improve the shopping experience for your customers for many reasons. Here are just a few benefits:

It’s Secure

Apple Pay uses sophisticated technology to encrypt and protect every transaction. Card numbers are never actually stored.

Instead, Apple assigns something called a “Device Account Number” to each added card, which is essentially a code name for that card. That Device Account Number is then encrypted and stored securely in the device.

Google Pay also hides customers’ payment details. Payments made with Google Pay use “virtual card numbers.” The user’s actual card number is hidden throughout the transaction, protecting the buyer from fraudulent merchants and security breaches.

It’s Fast and Convenient

Another big benefit of using Apple Pay and Google Pay is that transactions are completed very quickly. Customers don’t have to enter their card details or fill in the shipping information. They can just choose their preferred payment option and all the needed information is filled in automatically.

For customers, that means a seamless shopping experience. And for sellers, it means happier customers and more completed orders!

It Prevents Abandoned Carts

When it comes to online shopping, most customers find it tedious to re-enter their credit or debit card details and shipping information every time they have to pay for something. And if there’s a typo, they have to enter their information again…

Sometimes that’s enough to make customers abandon your checkout, especially if they are in a hurry. Will they get back to your store later and finish their purchase? Who knows!

It’s only natural that many customers prefer to add their card and shipping address to Apple Pay in the Wallet app, or set up the Google Pay app. Then they only have to enter their information once and be done with it!

Customers then want to use those payment methods in all online stores they shop in. So it’s highly likely customers will be looking for Apple Pay and Google Pay options at your online checkout too.

Make sure you provide them with their preferred options so that you don’t lose potential customers to inconvenience, hurry, or even typos.

How to Accept Apple Pay and Google Pay in Your Online Store

So you want to start accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay in your online store—that’s very wise!

First, make sure your ecommerce platform integrates with payment providers that support Apple Pay and Google Pay. Ecwid by Lightspeed is an ecommerce platform that supports 100+ payment gateways, including the ones that accept Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Apart from that, Ecwid allows you to sell anywhere online: on your website, social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok, and marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay.

When you sign up with Ecwid, you can set up a payment method depending on your business’ location.

If You Run a US-Based Online Store

For US-based online sellers, the most beneficial way to accept Apple Pay and Google Pay is through Lightspeed Payments.

Lightspeed Payments is a safe and secure payment gateway in the US. It allows you to accept payments in your online store via Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as all major credit and debit cards.

Lightspeed Payments does not charge any hidden or extra processing fees when accepting Apple Pay or Google Pay. You will only be charged a processing fee, which is lower compared to other payment gateways, 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

If you run an Ecwid store, you can sign up for and access Lightspeed Payments right from your Ecwid control panel. This makes managing your payments more convenient. You don’t need to go to a different website to log into Lightspeed Payments, and you can manage all things payment-related in the control panel. This includes payouts, payment details, and refunds.

To start accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay with Lightspeed Payments, follow these step-by-step instructions in our Help Center.

If You Run an Online Store Based Outside of the US

If you live outside of the US, you unfortunately can’t use Lightspeed Payments. But you can still get paid with Apple Pay and Google Pay! The best way is through Stripe. It is available in 47 countries including Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan, and others.

Apart from accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay, Stripe allows you to get paid with credit and debit cards, set up recurring subscriptions, and use the “Buy Now, Pay Later” business model.

If you run an EU-based store, Stripe also lets you add to your store various payment options popular with EU customers, such as giropay, SEPA, iDEAL, Sofort, Klarna, Alipay.

The Stripe processing fee is 2.9% + 30¢. There are no extra fees when getting paid with Apple or Google Pay.

To start accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay with Stripe, follow this step-by-step guide in our Help Center.

Start Accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay

Now that you know how to start accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay in your online store, it’s time to put this knowledge into practice. After all, customers love the convenience of paying with their digital wallets, so why not give them what they want?

Improve the shopping experience for your customers to make sure they keep coming back for more!

Learn more about how to get paid with Apple Pay and Google Pay in your Ecwid store in our Help Center. And if you have any questions, feel free to contact our support team—we’re here to help.

Sell online

With Ecwid Ecommerce, you can easily sell anywhere, to anyone — across the internet and around the world.

Get started

Selling Online Business Finance

Apr 28, 2022

About the author

Anastasia Prokofieva is a content writer at Ecwid. She writes about online marketing and promotion to make entrepreneurs’ daily routine easier and more rewarding. She also has a soft spot for cats, chocolate, and making kombucha at home.