Online payment service WePay announced that it’s adding Android Pay web support to its solution. In a press release sent to media outlets on Thursday, WePay said that this latest addition was made to address what it deems the biggest issue inhibiting mobile conversions – low-quality user experiences on the web that are preventing consumers from making simple online checkouts. WePay said that many consumers are discouraged by existing online payment solutions when they’re browsing digital stores on their mobile devices. When users have to enter payment and shipping details on smartphones and tablets, they tend to drop the idea of purchasing whatever it is they were looking for in the first place, the company says. Complicated user interfaces that aren’t suitable for mobile devices are lowering mobile conversions, which is why WePay opted to add more payment options to its service, starting with Android Pay and Apple Pay.
While mobile conversions amount to almost one-third of all online sales in the United States and are still growing quite rapidly, checkout conversion rates on mobile browsers are significantly weaker compared to their desktop counterparts, WePay says, citing Adobe Digital Insights. The company believes this irregularity can be explained by the fact that mobile users are abandoning the idea of buying something online after they’re presented with a complicated checkout procedure, which consequently results in a lot of lost sales. By adding support for Android Pay and allowing customers to complete their purchases with just one touch, WePay is convinced it will be able to improve mobile conversions and ultimately help its business clients make more money.
WePay’s Android Pay web support is currently available exclusively for owners of Android devices using Google’s Chrome browser. The company developed this feature using the PaymentRequest application programming interface (API) that’s specifically designed for circumventing traditional online checkout forms. This API is supported by Chrome 53 and newer versions of Google’s Android browser, while WePay’s Android Pay support is already available to all new and existing partners. The company believes this addition is suitable for businesses of all sizes and will be positively received by consumers, though it remains to be seen whether that prediction comes true.