Some of the most profitable trades on the stock market are separated by hours or minutes from the ones that cost investors big, which is why it makes sense for trading services to seek the most seamless payment processes possible.
That was the move E*TRADE made when it announced Monday (Oct. 26) that it had added support for Apple Pay for all debit card accounts. George Fischer, senior vice president of trading, margin lending and cash management at E*TRADE, explained that Apple Pay functionality will allow E*TRADE users to experience true frictionless trading from start to finish.
“Traders and investors today expect an easy, seamless, and secure experience across the full investment lifecycle, from research to execution to monitoring,” Fischer said in a statement. “With the addition of Apple Pay, we take that one step further, allowing investors to access cash how they want, when they want, and where they want.”
E*TRADE explained that users would be able to process payments through devices such as the iPhone 6, Apple Watch and iPad Air 2, but the most attractive quality of Apple Pay might not be the number of devices it can be used on, but the spread the service has already achieved with financial institutions. As of Sept. 15, Apple Pay counted more than 500 U.S. banks among its partnering organizations, with about a dozen U.K.-based institutions signed on as well.
The move comes at what could be an opportune time for E*TRADE and Apple Pay alike, as almost 17 percent of consumers with an iPhone 6 or 6s have tried Apple Pay, a hike from last quarter’s figures from PYMNTS and InfoScout. And while data also show that consumers sometimes forget to use Apple Pay or are unsure if the store they are accepts the payment method, new partnerships such as this one serve as a reminder of its growing use cases.
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