More retailers are moving to support Apple Pay, with Kickstarter, Etsy, and GameStop the latest to join a growing list. With an update released yesterday, Kickstarter's iOS app now lets you crowdfund any US-based project with Apple Pay. So if the Apple Watch is too expensive for your blood, it's possible to buy a Pebble Time smartwatch using just your thumb.
GameStop's also adding to the momentum. Starting today, it's launching a nationwide rollout and hopes to accept Apple Pay at over 4,200 locations by the end of March. "Incorporating the latest in mobile technology, like Apple Pay, into our stores is another way we are offering customers options to help simplify their purchases," said senior VP Jason Cochran. This is another example where retailers integrating NFC payment terminals and support for Apple Pay could wind up benefiting competing payment solutions like Google Wallet.
Apple Pay is picking up momentum in online payments and in stores
Two other companies are in the "coming soon" column. Etsy will give sellers who accept Direct Checkout the ability to receive payments via Apple Pay from buyers inside the United States. And this summer, Marriott will get underway with its own Apple Pay rollout at select hotels including The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, and Marriott locations. "Guests using Apple Pay at check-in will simply bring their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or soon, Apple Watch, near the contactless reader at the front desk," the company said in a press release. "There will be no need to provide a credit card upon check-in."
All of these retailers are touting the security benefits of Apple Pay, which goes to great lengths to encrypt and secure your credit and debit card data. During yesterday's Apple event, CEO Tim Cook said that Apple Pay is available at over 700,000 locations.