Etsy is adding Apple Pay to its Direct Checkout system to encourage mobile sales as it continues to wean itself from dependence on PayPal. Etsy announced on Monday it will soon let mobile shoppers pay for items using Apple’s mobile payment service.
“Etsy app users will be able to make purchases with a single touch with Apple Pay and placing their finger on Touch ID while checking out.” Etsy also revealed it had recently added Google Wallet to Direct Checkout.
There are no apparent downsides for merchants – shoppers can continue to pay them directly through PayPal or other methods. And they won’t have to deal with setting up Google Wallet or Apple Pay accounts. That’s because buyers who choose to use Direct Checkout are actually paying Etsy, which then passes along the funds to sellers.
One seller did have a concern with Apple Pay, however. “Do we have the option to choose whether we accept Apple Pay,” she asked. “There have been some major issues with this – fraud – and I don’t want to accept payments from Apple Pay.”
An Etsy moderator replied, “If you’re accepting Direct Checkout, you’re automatically accepting Apple Pay. The only way to ensure that you don’t receive payments from buyers using Apple Pay would be to turn off Direct Checkout entirely. Keep in mind that Etsy has security measures in place to reduce risk and manage any suspicious activity that may occur with payments made through Direct Checkout.”
In a blog post, Etsy touched on security issues. “When you add a credit or debit card to Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on your device. Each transaction is authorized with a one-time unique dynamic security code, instead of using the security code from the back of your card.”
Direct Checkout is optional for sellers – they can accept PayPal, credit card and checks and money orders directly – but it gives them many advantages, including the ability to accept Etsy gift cards and use Sell on Etsy card readers for in-person payment processing. Sales made through Google Wallet and Apple Pay will have the same payment processing fee as any other order paid through Direct Checkout, which vary by country.
Shoppers who use Direct Checkout can currently fund their payment with credit cards, debit/bank cards, Etsy Gift Cards as well as iDEAL in the Netherlands and Sofort in Austria and Germany, Google Wallet – and soon to be Apple Pay.
While PayPal is not accepted as a funding source on Direct Checkout, buyers can use PayPal to pay sellers directly, if the seller accepts PayPal. Prior to Etsy’s launch of Direct Checkout, PayPal was the predominant electronic payment service.
Etsy provided sellers with further details about the new funding options: “If you currently accept Direct Checkout, you’re automatically eligible to receive payments from US buyers using Apple Pay or Google Wallet. These payments will be displayed in your Shop Payment Account just as credit card payments are. On your receipt, they’ll appear as Paid via Direct Checkout.”
Direct Checkout is not available in all geographies – Etsy said it was looking to expand the platform to more countries in the future.
In its announcement, Etsy told sellers, “As mobile traffic grows, we’ve made it a priority to make it easier for buyers to purchase while browsing Etsy on their mobile devices.”
