The new guide is smaller than ever: just 4 pages

Sep 23, 2014 19:30 GMT  ·  By

The Apple Keynote detailed the interesting marketing bits about the future of their mobile payment system. But this will be something that Apple will implement with the help of hundreds, even thousands of partners. 

Banks, financial Funds, supermarkets, and restaurants will be among the ones to implement Apple Pay. Most of these partners are not app developers and none of them has worked with Apple at the software and security level before. Therefore, Apple needs to explain to everyone how to make sure their implementation of Apple Pay looks just like the tech giant wants to have it because that's what people trust.

Data security

If you are going to give someone your fingerprint, you need to make sure that nobody will use the information provided via NFC in nefarious ways and you will not be left with an empty bank account. Sure enough, Apple has explained that they will not disclose personal information like name or credit card numbers to the payee.

The HIG (Human Interface Guidelines) is something Apple usually puts out when they change something in their OS or when they add new features to the interface. Developers get this as a general recommendation, but they are not strictly under pressure to follow it. However, some elements of the HIG is the same for everyone, including Apple.

The new document regarding Apple Pay HIG starts by explaining how the customer will use iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus when purchasing goods and services and they will provide their info that is usually secured in a chip inside the phone. The best thing about Apple Pay is that the customer does not have to type his Credit Card Info, name, address and phone number and he is not required to fill out a Shipping address. All of these details are set by the user once, in the beginning in his account.

With Apple Pay there's no shopping cart either. You can only use this system to get single items. Also, the user can only have one Shipping Address and method. There is no way to change that when you buy the goods and services.

It's in the details

The new payment service has only one button. That button is displayed prominently and the stores are required to not display it if they do not support Apple Pay.

Apple is asking its partners and store to have a dynamic sheet for the final page of the transaction. For example, if you are selling electronic goods do not ask for a shipping address and have instead a field for an email address. They are allowed to add extra lines for other charges like tax, gift wrap or discounts.

An interesting bit is related to the typography of the billing sheet. Everything needs to be written in all capital letters. After the transaction is completed, Apple recommends sellers to add an Order Confirmation page that includes shipping date and a tracking number.