With Apple Pay launching this week, Mariam Sharp begins the first of a three-part series looking at emerging platforms for mobile payments

There is conflicting data around just how willing consumers are to book via mobile, and how much they are prepared to spend. This makes it tricky for travel brands that are making a call on which payment platforms to invest time and energy in.

In EyeforTravel’s recent Mobile in Hospitality Industry 2014 report, for example, industry executives said they did not expect large volumes of bookings to be made via mobile platforms in the next 12 months. Yet when consumers asked whether they would consider purchasing travel products via mobile were relatively positive. Close to 43% of travellers worldwide said they were comfortable transacting via mobile.

That said, when it came to the amounts they were willing to spend, it was clear that consumers are still reluctant to fork out large sums via mobile citing security and ease of use (yes, inputting credit card numbers on a small screen is painful) as the big issues.

So small ticket items seem to be the future, and that is something that the developers behind Apple Pay, which launched this week, know only to well.

Tim Cook CEO of Apple explained “Here's how Apple Pay works: add a credit card from your iTunes account, or add a new card using the phone's iSight camera. Once your card is on file with Apple Pay, you'll be able to use your phone to check out at participating vendors — both brick and mortar and online — by authenticating with Touch ID. In a store, you'll hold your iPhone in front of a reader and place your finger over the fingerprint sensor to confirm. In an app, you'll select Apple Pay as your payment method and confirm with Touch ID. "That's it!”

What’s in it for Apple?

Of course there has to be something in it for Apple, and needless to say customers will need the latest devices, either a new iPad or the iPhone, 5, 6 and 6 plus. The platform will also work with the new Apple Watch when it’s released.

One thing seems clear, Apple is now positioned as the must support platform. And many brands with failure to do so could see your competitors integrating with Touch ID and Apple Pay to make conversion simple through their app while your users are still required to complete the credit card input process. Apple Pay will ultimately be supported by 220,000 merchant locations as well as 83% of the credit card ecosystem.

What this means for the travel sector is yet to be understood but some travel brands have already signalled their support. In a recent interview with EyeforTravel Claire Bilby, SVP marketing at Disney recently said: “Our guests are going to love the convenience of Apple Pay, which will bring an easy, secure and private way to make purchases at Disney Store and Walt Disney World Resort.”

At the Apple keynote on October 16, which shed more light on the new payment system, a number of other travel brands were named as early adopters. By building apps for the phone, for example, American Airlines aims to let customers check in and track bags. And hotel group Starwood will enable customers to check into a hotel or even unlock a hotel room door by waving the Apple Watch, iPad or iPhone in front of the door. Starwood is expected to make this available at all its ‘W hotels’ around the world in the spring.

This all sounds promising but one thing remains unclear. A problem a number of musicians have is they have no idea who is buying their music on iTunes, and therefore can’t build direct relationships with fans. It is Apple that holds this data. So could a similar issue with Apple Pay purchases arise? In other words, will this limit the level of data hoteliers, for example, have on their customer’s spending habits within the hotel? That could be a big issue in today’s big data-driven world.