Apple Pay promises to change the way your customers think about making online and app purchases. And that’s exciting

If you’re in e-commerce, you’re gonna love Apple Pay, even if we might have to wait through its growing pains. Apple needs to be applauded for using its reputation and clout — and a lot of technical acumen — to make some major moves in the e-commerce space that will forever change how we do business.

Think about how we work and play these days. Increasingly, we juggle activities. Why does anyone go to a mall? To shop? To eat? To socialize? Now, we do all of these things at once through our mobile devices, and more.

Online, we bounce between tabs, websites, apps and interests. We don’t just do online shopping anymore; we are more likely to discover new and exciting clothes, gadgets or household goods while interacting with friends, reading magazine articles and catching up on the news.

That’s what’s really exciting about Apple Pay for business people in the world of e-commerce: Apple Pay promises to change the way your customers think about making online and app purchases.

How Apple Pay is going to change the game for e-commerce

Once an iPhone user has stored participating credit card info into the device, it will only be necessary to touch the home button to send fingerprint verification with TouchID to complete a transaction. And the Apple Pay solution isn’t just about simplicity: it addresses how we behave online, integrating activities between various apps and interests.

If there’s one thing online consumers have rallied for, it’s been a simpler mobile shopping experience: no more re-inputting of names, addresses, credit card information and verification numbers at every online business we visit. And smart retailers have needed to make the e-commerce shopping experience as seamless as possible to keep customers in the pipeline, undistracted by the next page of interest: Apple Pay deals with both of these primary needs.

How Apple Passbook paved the way for Apple Pay

Apple started developing similar technology when it introduced the Apple Passbook mobile wallet in iOS 6, “which stores your boarding passes, tickets, coupons, and more.” Not surprisingly, Apple Pay is incorporated into Passbook, but takes it to a whole new level.

When Passbook was first introduced, point-of-sale technology for a system like Apple Pay wasn’t yet widespread enough to make it popular. Since that time, more new POS terminals include the requisite Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which lets devices communicate when they touch each other.

Apple Pay actually goes even further than that, turning your iPhone into a virtual credit card. iPhone 6 owners can make payments for goods and services with their iPhones in stores and within specific apps, thanks to a NFC chip built into the devices. The chip sends the data about the credit card to an NFC terminal without ever needing to process an actual card. In some ways, this is more secure from hackers than the present system, since no credit card number is transmitted or recorded at point of purchase.

Apple Pay will face a few hurdles, not least of which are consumers who may be reluctant to use their smartphone as a wallet. There will also be some technological barriers regarding NFC compatibility.

Nevertheless, Apple Pay — and its recognition of the advantages of integrating devices and content — is going to mean easier transactions and a more natural shopping experience for consumers. That can only be good for customers and businesses alike.