Apple previously had a rule banning iOS apps from raising funds for charities or fundraisers through Apple Pay. That means if you raised funds, it would have to take place outside of the application, such as through Safari or SMS. Now, they can integrate the "donate" buttons in their application and process the transactions through the payment service.
On mobile, that means users can use TouchID. Meanwhile, on the web, users click on the Apple Pay donation button in Safari, and then they can confirm their payment through their iPhone or Apple Watch.
Already, the online stores that support Apple Pay on the web have seen an increase in the conversion rate of up to 2 times on the mobile, and customers can pay up to 60 percent faster with Apple Pay, according to figures from Shopify .
The reason the payment system works well is because it allows customers to use their contact and billing information they already have in the file, which saves time by having to manually complete the forms in the box.
Apple Pay has tens of millions of customers today, and is adding a million more per week. The technology is integrated into thousands of iOS applications, and has recently come to the web on Safari. In addition, TouchID support has been added to Apple's new MacBook Pro, so you can checkout the web with just a finger.
Apple Pay transactions have also increased nearly 500 percent year on year, for the September quarter. And more transactions were made in September 2016 than throughout the fiscal year 2015, the company said.
In other words, there are now enough customers at Apple Pay for this release to have a quantifiable impact on giving programs.
A large number of non-profit organizations are launching with Apple Pay, including the following: American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Charity: Water, Children's Military Network Hospitals, COPD Foundation, Crohn's Foundation and Colitis America (CCFA), Médecins Sans Frontières, UNICEF, United Way, WNET, World Vision and WWF (World Wildlife Federation).
A few more have plans to support Apple Pay in the near future, including American Cancer Society, CARE, DonorsChoose.org and PBS, along with their local stations.
"Currently, nearly 25% of our donations come from mobile. We've seen steady growth in mobile traffic to our site over the past few years, so it's important we make it through mobile as easy as possible, "explained Scott Harrison, charity: water founder and CEO.
"So many people want to give, but complicated and clunky donation systems discourage them. Integrating Apple Pay makes the experience incredibly simple and convenient, and we hope it will encourage more people to join our mission and enable us to transform lives within seconds, "he added.
Charity: water will be integrating Apple Pay through all its platforms on desktop and mobile, and will also allow donors to use it when joining the monthly giving program.
To help vet nonprofits ahead of their integrations with Apple Pay, Apple is working with Benevity, a platform that helps enable workplace and corporate charitable giving programs. The company will launch an online application form for any nonprofits that want to integrate Apple Pay in their apps.
Apple Pay's move to support nonprofits is a big challenge to rival digital payment services, like PayPal, which already has close to half a million charities using its platform to take donations. However, Apple Pay support for nonprofits is not as broadly available at present, as it is limited to the Apple ecosystem and the U.S. for the time being.Choose.org and PBS, along with its local stations.