HOTELS in the UK can accept in-person contactless payments “seamlessly and securely” with Tap to Pay on iPhone, using the GuestTappy app from Glasgow-based tech firm freetobook.
Freetobook, which provides one of the UK's leading UK hospitality booking management systems, said the new payment initiative is an easy, secure and private way to accept contactless payments with only an iPhone and its GuestTappy app, with no additional hardware or payment terminal required.
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At checkout, the merchant prompts the customer to hold their iPhone or Apple Watch to pay with their contactless credit or debit card, Apple Pay, or other digital wallet near the merchant’s iPhone, with the payment completed securely using NFC technology. Tap to Pay on iPhone also supports PIN entry, which includes accessibility options.
Freetobook’s co-founders and directors Iain and Craig Stewart noted that their booking systems provide an independent accommodation booking service. The company’s connection with Stripe has transacted a total of £408,795,673 since October 2015 and September 2023 alone there was £11 million, equating to 60,000 transactions made with Stripe.
Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone technology uses the built-in features of iPhone to keep the business’s and customers’ data private and secure. When a payment is processed, Apple doesn’t store card numbers on the device or on Apple servers.
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Craig Stewart said: “We know that introducing this payment method will help our users in terms of convenience. In fact, when we asked our customers, 89.8% said they would use Tap to Pay on iPhone for their guest payments.”
Meanwhile, Iain Stewart noted that the alternative payment method provided hotels with an opportunity to upsell to guests as well as making taking payments easier. “We are always looking at how we can make our service better for our customers so like everything at freetobook, all development is done in-house by our own team, based in Glasgow.”
Tap to Pay on iPhone enables freetobook customers to use a contactless payment acceptance solution that is easy to set up and use, the firm said.
It added: “Merchants will be able to unlock contactless payment acceptance through the GuestTappy app on an iPhone XS or later running the latest version of iOS, and can simply download the GuestTappy app from the Apple App Store to start accepting contactless payments within minutes.”
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