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Apple reportedly acquired Stamplay, an Italy-based application programming interface (API) developer, for €5 million ($5.6 million), according to VentureBeat. Stamplay is a "digital sandbox" that makes it simpler for tech firms to string together multiple APIs: The firm enables business developers to connect internal and external APIs to apps, which allows a single app to offer features produced by several developers. Stamplay has offices in Rome, London, and San Francisco.
Business Insider IntelligenceThough the acquisition is unconfirmed, Stamplay’s experience in financial services suggests that this is a move for Apple to bolster its payment products. Business Insider Intelligence previously reported on Stamplay winning the Visa Everywhere initiative, a competition in which local startups compete to develop solutions for specific challenges, for its APIs in 2016.
Access to Stamplay’s technology could allow Apple to accelerate its push into financial services, particularly in two primary areas.
- Apple could bolster Apple Pay with more external features to attract a larger US audience. Stamplay could broaden Apple’s ability to integrate commerce and payments functionalities into Apple Pay and allow the mobile wallet to offer new features that might position it more competitively in the US to attract a wider base. Although Apple Pay saw triple-digit growth in quarterly transaction volume in 2018 and surpassed 1.8 billon transactions during Apple’s fiscal Q1 2019 (ended December 29, 2018), performance has been lagging domestically, as just 24% of eligible users in the US have activated Apple Pay, compared with 47% that have done so internationally, according to Loup Ventures. Apple Pay’s momentum has been fueled by its rapid expansion strategy, the mobile wallet is currently live in 27 markets, but growing its features for new use cases could also be an integral part of attracting new users in the US.
- Stamplay could help develop the iPhone features associated with Apple and Goldman Sachs’ credit card. Apple is also in a rumored partnership with Goldman Sachs on a cobrand credit card that the firms are expected to begin issuing later this year. The card has associated iPhone features for money management including tools that connect to the Apple Wallet, like the ability to set spending goals, track rewards, manage balances, and receive notifications on spending. Apple could leverage Stamplay’s technology to streamline the iPhone features associated with this card and to continue building out the offering, which could ultimately play into Apple’s broader financial services push.
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See Also:
- Square is making a slew of updates across its product offering
- Amazon and Worldpay are partnering to expand Amazon Pay acceptance
- Chase has introduced a low-cost account
SEE ALSO: THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY ECOSYSTEM: The trend towards digital payments and key players moving markets
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Rachel Green)