In the summer of 2015, select Marriott properties in the US will kick off a phased introduction of Apple Pay, extending its existing app-based services to touchless payments via iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch.
With Apple Pay, guests can provide payment information via Apple Pays NFC functionalities, streamlining the check-in process as they will not have to provide credit card details. In addition, Marriott Rewards members can load the loyalty programs co-branded credit card into Apple Pay.
Along with iPhone 6 support, Marriott plans to launch an app for Apple Watch that will allow Marriott Rewards member to check-in in advance, receive a notification when their room is ready and checkout at almost 4,000 hotels around the world. Starwood Hotels rolled out similar functionalities in November 2014.
Ecommerce website Etsy has also revealed that it will start processing Apple Pay transactions via its iOS app in the near future. The feature will work in the US on iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. Sellers who accept Direct Checkout, currently available in 22 countries, will be automatically eligible to receive payments via Apple Pay from US buyers.
At Apples Spring forward 2015 event, CEO Tim Cook revealed that over 700,000 retailers now accept Apple Pay, up from an initial 220,000 in September 2014. The service is also accepted at some 40,000 Coca Cola vending machines.
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