Xero has announced the integration of Apple Pay through Stripe, making it even faster and easier for customers to get paid. Xero’s 862,000 subscribers now can offer their customers the ability to view and pay an invoice using Apple Pay through Stripe.
Invoices paid with a payment service get paid almost 80 per cent faster than invoices that don’t offer a payment service. This new feature is available automatically to everyone on Xero using Stripe where Apple Pay is available.
Small business owners consistently point to delays in getting paid as one of their biggest pain points, which puts a strain on cash flow. Xero customers sent 15 million invoices globally in the last 30 days alone. And based on our current data, over 60 percent of those invoices will be paid late. Xero’s connection to the payment services of Stripe and Apple Pay will help address this concern for small businesses owners and help businesses get paid faster.
"Almost a fifth of online commerce in the United States now happens on mobile devices.” – Cristina Cordova, head of business development, Stripe.
Craig Walker, Xero Chief Technology Officer, says that mobile payments are the way of the future. “Attaching a payment option to online invoices helps Xero customers get paid almost 80 precent 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.”
Walker says that 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. It also give them the ability to pay the invoice as soon as it arrives, ensuring they get paid faster.
Currently, businesses that want to pay an invoice via credit card need to enter their credit card details to complete the payment. Credit card payments via Stripe mean that customers can confirm payment with Apple Pay using their fingerprint ID on their Apple device to confirm the payment quickly. Businesses who take payments via Stripe and Apple Pay also have an extra level of security. All payments made require a fingerprint or passcode, decreasing fraud, and with it, chargebacks.
"Almost a fifth of online commerce in the United States now happens on mobile devices,” says Cristina Cordova, head of business development at Stripe. “We’re excited to work closely with Xero to help hundreds of thousands of businesses use Apple Pay to get their invoices paid with little more than a fingerprint.”
By connecting Xero users with Apple Pay transactions automatically will be entered and matched against invoices in Xero. Automating the invoicing reconciliation process makes accounting easier for small businesses.
Brad Sewitz, supervisor at Logicca Chartered Accountants, says he advises his clients on the ability Xero offers to link to online payment providers like Paypal and Stripe. “These services have changed the way my clients operate their business, reducing the unnecessary burden of data capturing and positively impacting their cash flow. It allows them to focus solely on what they do best - running their business."
In the end, it allows small businesses to get paid quicker and get greater visibility into their receivables by using Xero invoices with online payment providers like Stripe and Paypal. “With Xero, my clients reduce their dependency on paper checks," says Mike Castle at Bond, Andiola & Company, "and, in some cases, save themselves fees associated with having check scanners.”