Xero Just Made iPhones More Useful for Small Business Owners

Xero has launched its Tap to Pay feature for small businesses in Australia. The feature allows businesses to accept in-person contactless payments using just an iPhone and the Xero Accounting app. It doesn’t require any external hardware or payment terminal. 

The feature is available to Xero customers with a Stripe account and supports contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets. It uses Apple’s built-in NFC (Near Field Communication) technology to complete payments securely and supports PIN entry with accessibility options. 

This integration allows merchants to start the transaction directly from their iPhones and receive payments on their phones. On the other hand, customers can simply use their contactless card or device near the business owner’s iPhone. According to the shared press release, ‘no card or transaction details are stored on Apple’s servers.’ This means that all the data that customers will be sharing is completely safe and will remain private. 

This move is aimed at improving cash flow management, which is said to be a major concern for small businesses. If we go by Xero’s internal research, 41% of consumers are frustrated when they can’t use their preferred payment method, and 28% would consider shopping elsewhere under such circumstances. The same study noted that 86% of consumers use credit or debit cards regularly.  

Payments continue to be a challenge for small businesses, particularly when it comes to managing cash flow and chasing late payments. By introducing Tap to Pay on iPhone, we’re giving small businesses a tool to accept payments on the spot and reduce payment delays. .

Bharathi Ramavarjula, SVP of Payments & Ecosystem at Xero

However, it’s important to keep in mind that to use this feature, you will need an iPhone XS or newer model running on the latest iOS version. Business owners can download the Xero Accounting app from the Apple App Store and activate Tap to Pay within minutes.

It’s not the first time Xero is helping small businesses. Recently, the company partnered with Sumday to give free access to carbon accounting tools. The tools aim to help small businesses track and report their emissions data.