Freetobook Now Offers Tap to Pay on iPhone for Hotels to Accept Contactless Payments

Accept in-person contactless payments with only an iPhone and Stripe

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Today, freetobook, one of the UK's leading hospitality booking management systems, has announced it now enables its hotel customers in the UK to seamlessly and securely accept in-person contactless payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone.

The new payment initiative is an easy, secure and private way to accept contactless payments with only an iPhone and the freetobook GuestTappy app with no additional hardware or payment terminal required. Not on that but Tap to Pay on iPhone accepts all forms of contactless payments, including, contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets.

At checkout, the merchant will simply prompt the customer to hold their iPhone or Apple Watch to pay with their contactless credit or debit card, Apple Pay, or other digital wallet near the merchant’s iPhone, and the payment will be securely completed using NFC technology. It’s also worth noting that Tap to Pay on iPhone also supports PIN entry, which includes accessibility options.

Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone technology uses the built-in features of iPhone to keep the business’ and customers’ data private and secure. When a payment is processed, Apple doesn’t store card numbers on the device or on Apple servers.

Freetobook is one of the UK's leading hospitality booking systems providing an independent accommodation booking service. Freetobook’s connection with Stripe has transacted a total of £408,795,673 since October 2015. In fact, in September 2023 alone there was £11 million, equating to 60,000 transactions made with Stripe.

Iain Stewart, Co-founder & Director of freetobook, said: “It’s exciting to be able to introduce an alternative payment method to our customers, so they can upsell to their guests or just make taking payments easier.”

Craig Stewart, Co-founder & Director of freetobook, added: “We know that introducing this payment method will help our users in terms of convenience. In fact, when we asked our customers, 89.8% said they would use Tap to Pay on iPhone for their guest payments.”

Iain continued: “We are always looking at how we can make our service better for our customers. So, like everything at freetobook, all development is done in house by our own team, based in Glasgow.”

Tap to Pay on iPhone enables freetobook customers to use a contactless payment acceptance solution that is easy to set up and use. Merchants will be able to unlock contactless payment acceptance through the GuestTappy app on an iPhone XS or later running the latest version of iOS and can simply download the GuestTappy app from the Apple App Store to start accepting contactless payments within minutes.

Disclaimer: Tap to Pay on iPhone requires a supported payment app and the latest version of iOS. Update to the latest version by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Tap Download and Install. Some contactless cards may not be accepted by your payment app. Transaction limits may apply. The Contactless Symbol is a trademark owned by and used with permission of EMVCo, LLC. Tap to Pay on iPhone is not available in all markets. View Tap to Pay on iPhone countries and regions.

About freetobook

Freetobook is made up of a passionate team of developers, engineers, and designers, led by founders Craig and Iain and is dedicated to maximising direct bookings for hotels and bed and breakfasts. With over 25 members and counting, freetobook has over 200 years of
combined experience in travel and technology. This knowledge and know-how provide solutions to the problems their customers face and helps them improve the guest experience and their bottom line. Continual improvement is key to freetobook as they constantly evolve their software, staying ahead of the curve to deliver future-focused, intuitive solutions. In an industry dominated by OTAs and corporate giants, freetobook are here to level the playing field.