Lopay helps its users increase sales with Tap to Pay on iPhone

Lopay is a UK-based payment app serving sole proprietors and small businesses. Lopay offers low fees and fast payouts designed to reduce costs and improve cash flow. With rapid onboarding, Lopay’s users can typically begin to process payments securely within minutes of creating an account.

Products used

    Payments
    Terminal
    Issuing
    Identity
    Connect
Europe
Platform

Challenge

Lopay’s founders wanted to improve the point-of-sale experience for sole proprietors and small businesses. From the outset, the Lopay team counted on Stripe’s reliable and scalable infrastructure. Because many of the businesses using Lopay were mobile-first, it wanted to offer a payment acceptance option that relied on an iPhone, without an additional piece of hardware, to cut down on the number of devices businesses had to remember to charge, manage and bring with them.

Dedicated to helping businesses grow, Lopay wanted to ensure that its users wouldn’t miss any opportunity to get paid. It needed a payment acceptance method that was fast and easy to adopt—and it had to use best-in-class security practices, so businesses and their customers could be confident in the integrity of their payments. In addition, Lopay needed a solution that would support its dedication to delivering fast payouts.

Solution

Lopay saw Tap to Pay on iPhone, which was already offered through Stripe Terminal, as the next evolution in its offering. Tap to Pay on iPhone allows users to accept all types of in-person, contactless payments right on their iPhone—from physical debit and credit cards to Apple Pay and other digital wallets—with no extra hardware needed.
Built into the Stripe Terminal SDK, Tap to Pay on iPhone requires just a few steps for integration–enabling Lopay to go live with Tap to Pay on iPhone within a week of its availability.

Lopay businesses were able to start accepting payments in a matter of minutes, with no additional setup or reader logistics. What’s more, Tap to Pay on iPhone uses the built-in security and privacy features of iPhone to help protect business and customer data.

Results

Sales growth for Lopay and its businesses

Today, Lopay’s average transaction amounts with Tap to Pay on iPhone are roughly the same as other payments processed through Lopay. “It shows that people are using Tap to Pay on iPhone as part of their day-to-day payment acceptance,” said Ollie Mahoney, Lopay’s cofounder and chief technology officer. “It’s becoming a primary way of accepting payments–it’s now the go-to choice for a lot of merchants.”

In fact, one in five payments to mobile-based businesses like taxi drivers and traveling beauticians using Lopay are made with Tap to Pay on iPhone. Across the board, Tap to Pay on iPhone has driven sales growth for both Lopay and its businesses. “If our customers can accept more payments and do more business, then they win and we win as well,” Mahoney said.

Faster onboarding boosts adoption

Before Lopay rolled out Tap to Pay on iPhone, businesses had to order and receive hardware before they could accept face-to-face payments. Now, once they’ve completed the efficient onboarding process in Lopay’s app, enabled by Stripe Connect, they can immediately accept in-person, contactless payments on their iPhone.

With no need for additional hardware and fast onboarding, Lopay has seen greater growth in Tap to Pay on iPhone use than initially anticipated. Though the company expected 10% to 20% of businesses to adopt Tap to Pay on iPhone, it found that 50% were doing so within a week of onboarding. “It’s far more than we expected,” said Mahoney. “And we think that’s happening because it’s so easy to use—it’s baked into our user experience.”

Designed to be secure

Tap to Pay on iPhone uses the built in security features of iPhone to help protect your business and customer data. Transactions that require PIN will automatically prompt a PIN entry screen when using Tap to Pay on iPhone. When the PIN entry screen appears, Tap to Pay on iPhone is designed to prevent apps in the background from reading sensors that could give away any part of the PIN. For every transaction, Tap to Pay on iPhone is designed to prevent all photo, video, screenshot, and screen-recording features on the business’ iPhone from capturing a customer’s card number or PIN information. “It’s a really secure way of accepting payments that protects card holders and merchants,” Mahoney said.

Enhancements to mobile business operations

Without the need for additional payment terminals, everything businesses need is in their pocket. They can now accept contactless payments right on their iPhone, allowing them to do business in more places and in unexpected ways.

Lopay's app also means businesses have access to funds right away. With the addition of Stripe Issuing, Lopay was able to make it even easier for businesses that want to run their entire operation from their iPhone. Like all payments received through Lopay, those received via Tap to Pay on iPhone are immediately available as balances on the Lopay Visa card. In addition to supporting businesses’ cash flow management, this arrangement makes it even simpler for Lopay businesses to offset processing fees with the rewards points they earn every time they use their card.

For example, a taxi driver can add the Lopay Visa card in their digital wallet. Then they can accept payment via Tap to Pay on iPhone and instantly use those earnings to refuel, paying with their digital wallet. “There's no need for any sort of hardware, there's no delay in getting your earnings, and it's all happening directly from your iPhone,” said Mahoney. “That just feels like the future of how small businesses should operate.”

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