PayPal vs. Apple Pay Comparison

What is PayPal?

PayPal describes itself as an "open digital payment platform" that allows around 325 million active customers worldwide to connect in new ways and conduct business within seconds. Along with PayPal's other services Braintree, Venmo and Xoom, the platform is available in more than 200 markets worldwide. Consumers and merchants are purported to be able to receive money in more than 100 currencies, withdraw to their account in 56 currencies, and maintain balance in their PayPal account in 25 currencies. In the online shop, the software can be integrated either directly or via intermediary payment service providers (PSP). The stated advantages: protection of customers and merchants as well as "easy online shopping".

What is Apple Pay?

Apple Pay is probably most recognized for its contactless payment in local stores, but it can also be used in apps and - through the Safari browser - in web shops. For consumer usage, bank or credit card information is stored on an iPhone or Apple Watch, with the card number neither being stored on the device used for setup, nor on Apple servers, making it considered "pretty secure". Compared to brick-and-mortar retail, integrating Apple Pay into e-commerce is not automatically possible and thus, online merchants who want to offer Apple Pay must integrate the software with their shop system. Apple provides all necessary interfaces for this, but the simplest path to integration is usually through the trusted payment provider that is often already interposed.