First Data Corporation, the global leader in payment technology and services solutions, has announces its participation with Apple Pay, a new category of service that will transform mobile payments with an easy, secure and private way to make purchases from your mobile device. First Data’s support of Apple Pay will also allow businesses and their app developers to go to market quickly with powerful new apps allowing payment with a single touch.

“Apple Pay has transformed mobile payments in a way that our clients will love, and will have an impact on the industry like never before,” said Frank Bisignano, First Data’s Chairman and CEO. “We’re thrilled to bring First Data solutions to support Apple Pay, along with the financial institutions, merchants developing apps and consumers to provide an easy, safe and secure way to pay with a single touch.”

First Data’s support of Apple Pay marks another milestone in First Data’s transformation from a payments processor to a solutions provider. “Our overriding purpose is to help clients grow their businesses, and a key driver of that is through technology allowing card issuers and merchants, large and small, to bring new payment options to their customers, including revolutionary trends in mobile payments,” Bisignano added. “Staying ahead of these trends, as a grand collaborator, we are also giving developers tools they need to quickly and easily code and enable online and mobile payments, including Apple Pay.”

New Benefits for Consumers: How First Data helps protect mobile transactions

With card security more important than ever, First Data’s integrated token services support the safety of both online and point-of-sale transactions.

A process called “tokenization” ensures the consumer’s credit or debit card data is shielded during transactions. In the tokenization process, consumers enter their card information into the digital wallet of a mobile device.

With cardholder information protected by the token, account numbers are difficult to compromise, thereby reducing the risk of fraud.

New Benefits for Merchants: Empowering Businesses with a Safe, Secure Mobile Transaction

The arrival of Apple Pay opens a world of opportunity for merchants of all sizes to grow their businesses. Consumers are looking for a transaction experience that is as easy as touching a phone to a point-of-sale terminal, yet as secure, or more so, than traditional credit card transactions where the card is “swiped” through a terminal.

With industry standard Near Field Communication (NFC) technology at the point-of-sale, Apple Pay enables a seamless experience. Users simply hold their iPhone near the contactless reader while keeping a finger on Touch ID™. A brief vibration of the device lets the user know the reader successfully received the payment information, saving both time and hassle. Contactless terminals are also a popular option for merchants looking to prepare for upcoming migration to EMV™ chip card acceptance in 2015. First Data provides a range of contactless terminal options that are ready to accept both this latest technology and chip-enabled cards at the point of sale.

First Data is already powering some of the world’s leading consumer brands as they prepare to welcome customers ready to use this latest payment technology.

New Benefits for Developers: Easy Access to App Building Software

The First Data eCommerce solution, called Payeezy^SM, rapidly enables developers and merchants to give consumers the ability to use their new payment features with new mobile devices equipped with InApp capability.

The process of developing a new app for mobile devices equipped with this new payment functionality begins by downloading First Data’s solution available at www.payeezy.com/iospayments. Apple has developed a software developer kit (or “SDK”) for developers. The SDK gives merchants and their developers all of the tools they need to get started immediately building an InApp experience that is safe, easy-to-use, commerce-enabled and cost-effective for businesses of all sizes.

New Benefits for Issuers: How First Data’s STAR Network Shines Bright in the New World of Mobile Payments

Issuers seeking an additional payment processing network can now look to First Data’s STAR Network as the leading independent debit network that will accept Apple Pay debit transactions when it becomes available later this year.

“First Data stands ready to work with all of our clients to help them take full advantage of Apple Pay,” said Bisignano. “The introduction of Apple Pay is an exciting complement to the point-of-sale transformation we introduced merchants to earlier this year with the introduction of First Data’s Clover Station. Clover has proven to be a game changer with merchants, and the launch of Apple Pay helps Clover merchants create a truly winning combination.”

Today marks another milestone in First Data’s ongoing transformation. Since 2013, the company has focused its strength on driving advances in global commerce, recently introducing the small business solution Clover™ Station, which transforms the point of sale into a dynamic business system. First Data’s Insightics^SM solution, Perka™ loyalty and Gyft^® prepaid solutions further enhance the small business experience. Alongside Apple Pay, First Data taps into its history as a trusted payments processor, and reflects First Data’s continuing transformation into one of the world’s leading tech companies to bring tomorrow’s innovations to market today.

First Data is currently enrolling financial institutions, merchants and developers in its ecommerce and tokenization solutions. First Data has teams ready to help these businesses and organizations quickly and efficiently prepare to do business using digital wallets.