​Xero launches Apple Pay through payments platform Stripe

Cloud accounting firm Xero has partnered with payments company Stripe to allow their small business users to view and pay an invoice using Apple Pay.

Already live, the integration will see the new Apple Pay feature automatically available to everyone on Xero using Stripe where Apple Pay is available. Apple Pay transactions will also be automatically entered and matched against invoices in the Xero platform.

According to Xero, businesses that take payments via Stripe and Apple Pay have an extra level of security, as all payments made require a fingerprint or passcode, which Xero said decreases fraud as well as chargebacks.

"Mobile payments are the way of the future," Xero chief technology officer Craig Walker said. "Attaching a payment option to online invoices helps Xero customers get paid almost 80 percent faster than invoices that don't use a payment service -- so they spend less time chasing unpaid invoices for a more productive and cash healthy business.

"By enabling these connections with payment services, small businesses are able to offer multiple payment options on an invoice, giving them and their customers choice of payment and also the ability to pay the invoice as soon as it arrives, ensuring they get paid faster."

Apple Pay was launched in Australia in November, with American Express the only financial institution partner joining the iPhone maker's near-field communication (NFC) payments at the time.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) was then the first bank in Australia -- and the only financial institution in New Zealand -- to integrate Apple Pay, with ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott admitting in April that the launch was in direct response to the "hounding" he received from customers on Twitter and via email.

ANZ is the only member of Australia's big four to embrace Apple Pay; however, member-owned financial services provider CUA made the service available to its members last month, along with Woolworths Employees' Credit Union, Defence Bank, Bank Australia, Police Bank, and others.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Westpac Banking Corporation, the National Australia Bank (NAB), and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank have been seeking regulatory approval to collectively negotiate with third-party mobile providers such as Apple on conditions relating to competition, best practice standards, and efficiency.

The banks want access to the NFC controller in iPhones, as Apple currently does not allow any entity direct access. The group has been arguing that access would enable the banks to offer their own integrated digital wallets to iPhone customers in competition with Apple's digital wallet without using Apple Pay -- which is what Apple wants to avoid.

Additionally, the banks want the removal of the restriction Apple imposes on banks, preventing them from passing on fees that Apple charges for the use of its digital wallet.

However last week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued a draft determination proposing to deny authorisation for the banking consortium to collectively bargain with Apple.