NatWest Adds Apple Pay Option For B2B Payments

NatWest is bringing Apple Pay to all its business credit card customers, according to a press release.

The new partnership will afford NatWest customers a more efficient, less costly way to make payments, the report says, and will help them avoid handing their payment card to someone else or having to use cash — things people are looking to avoid during the pandemic.

Subsidiaries for NatWest, such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, have now implemented Apple Pay for a number of Mastercard credit cards for customers in business and commercial banking, adding more options for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to pay.

To use the Apple Pay service, customers will just hold their phone near a payment terminal to perform a contactless payment. The release touts the security of Apple Pay payments, due to the authentications with Face ID, Touch ID or a device passcode, along with a security code. The service can be used in “grocery stores, pharmacies, taxis, restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, and many more places,” per the release.

Matt Tuck, NatWest Group’s head of customer propositions and delivery with commercial banking, said the idea was to help customers make safe and secure payments.

“Apple Pay allows customers to make safe, fast payments with minimal effort,” he said, according to the release. “This innovation supports our broader efforts to assist customers during this time with flexible, safe and easy options, and ultimately helps them to continue running their business.”

Debbie Suttle, Mastercard UK and Ireland head of commercial issuing, said the company was looking to capitalize on the current need for digital wallets.

“We have seen an acceleration in the use of digital wallets for retail customers, so it is only natural for this to now extend to business,” she said, according to the release. “This innovation will offer NatWest business customers further speed and convenience when making payments, all underpinned by the safety and security you would expect from Mastercard.”

Apple has been making strides in the payments sphere as of late, such as its acquisition of Canada’s Mobeewave, which will allow it to make mobile pay hubs out of iPhones.