Last week we launched our Apple Pay for Web integration.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, we've decided to provide 20% off all transactions made using Apple Pay on LoungeBuddy.com for the remainder of September.

Apple Pay is the best way to purchase lounge access for both new and existing customers in our iOS App. With the introduction of Apple Pay for Web in iOS10 and macOS Sierra, it was clear we needed to bring the same seamless experience to our web customers as well.

We strongly believe in Apple Pay as the future of payments. Why?

1. Simplicity

Customers can complete their purchase without entering a single piece of information. This is incredibly important for the customer, but also for merchants as we try to optimise our checkout experience.

Whether you're a first time customer, or it's your 100th purchase, the experience is equally as smooth.

2. Security

The most underrated feature of Apple Pay is its security. Seriously, people don't talk about it at all.

One of the major advantages of Apple Pay is tokenization. All transactions are made using tokens rather than credit card data. When a transaction is made, banks use the token to figure out which card to charge. This is why Apple has to partner with each bank before the bank's customers can use Apple Pay. As this is only a reference, merchants never have access to your card data.

Oh, and if you ever lose your phone, you can disable Apple Pay. Much easier than losing a credit card.

For further reading on this, you can learn about tokenization, Apple's security overview, the mechanics behind secure payments, or a consumer friendly article about fraud. Speaking of...

3. Prevent Fraud

Along with the improved security for customers, merchants get a huge benefit as well - reduced fraud! As the customer is in complete control of the transaction (and their data in Apple Pay), it's near impossible for fraudsters to steal card information to make fraudulent transactions. And if there is an issue, customers can remove their cards immediately.

In over a year of Apple Pay transactions, we've experienced 0 chargebacks. That's big.

4. Adoption

Now two years after launch, every Apple device currently available supports Apple Pay. There are more banks adding support every quarter.

How many people are actually using Apple Pay? Well, it depends on the country. There is a limited set of countries supported and, within those, not every bank is supported.

For a few examples:

• USA - has the best bank support, and is most likely has the widest availability for consumers. Lacking on the merchant front as the US has been restricted to Magstripe cards for a long time. Great opportunities for merchants.
• Australia - Currently AMEX and ANZ support Apple Pay, and the number of banks signing on is expected to increase, however the real-world merchant infrastructure is incredible. Almost every cafe, store, restaurant, or bar you go to will support Apple Pay.
• Japan - with the iPhone 7 & iOS10, Apple is making a huge push for Japan. I'd expect growth here to be strong in 2017.

There's a long way to go, however we're off to a great start. We looked at where our existing customers come from, and there was a strong crossover with Apple Pay support.

5. Easy to integrate.

If the above 4 reasons didn't sell you enough (can't see why)... it's one of the easiest flows to introduce. Our original iOS integration only took a few days (App & Server including testing) as we were one of the first companies to go through the process.

What about Apple Pay for Web? It took us half a day to add support. Yep, that's it. Granted, our initial infrastructure was already in place from our iOS launch - and Stripe massively simplifies the process.

When Apple Pay for Web was announced, we knew it would be big. For both customers and merchants, it's the easiest and most secure payment flow available.

Book your lounge access with Apple Pay today

(you'll feel as relaxed as this sloth)