Understanding Tap to Pay compared to Apple Pay and Google Pay

It’s easy to get Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Tap to Pay confused. While they all work together, they do very different things—especially when it comes to collecting patron information for your Tessitura database.

Here is a breakdown of how these systems work and why they handle data differently.

The Difference Between Digital Wallets and Tap to Pay

• Digital Wallets (Apple Pay & Google Pay): This is the patron’s digital wallet. It holds their payment information on their phone or smartwatch, replacing their physical credit card.
• Tap to Pay on Mobile (iPhone & Android): This is your organization's payment terminal. It turns your staff’s mobile device into a cash register so you can accept those payments.

"Why doesn't Tap to Pay auto-fill my patron's data?"

A common question we hear is: "When I use Apple Pay online, it automatically fills in my email and address. Why doesn't Tap to Pay do the same thing?"

It all comes down to the difference between paying online versus paying in person:

1. Paying Online: When a patron uses a digital wallet on your website, your site specifically asks their phone for a bundle of data (like their name, email, and billing address). The patron clicks a button to approve it, and the data is securely sent over the internet.
2. Paying In Person (Tap to Pay): When a patron taps their phone in person, the technology is designed to act exactly like a physical, plastic credit card. A physical credit card chip doesn't store a person's email address or phone number. Because of this, the tap-to-pay network simply isn't built to ask for or transmit personal contact info. It only asks for payment.

How Privacy and Tokenization Work

To keep transactions fast and secure, Tap to Pay uses a process called tokenization.

Instead of passing the actual credit card number, the phone generates a unique, one-time randomized token for the payment. Because the system prioritizes speed and privacy, Apple and Google do not pass any personal identification data during the tap.

What this means for your Tessitura workflow

Because an NFC tap only sends a secure payment token and no contact data, tapping a phone won't automatically look up or populate the patron's account in Tessitura.

To make sure donations and memberships are recorded to the right constituent record, we give you three setup options:

• Require Name & Email: Prompts the patron to enter their contact info before tapping. This ensures every single donation is tied to a specific constituent record in Tessitura.
• Allow Anonymous: Gives the patron a choice on the screen. They can either type in their info for a personalized receipt, or skip it to pay faster.
• Only Anonymous: Keeps the checkout lightning-fast. The patron taps to pay first. After the payment goes through, they can choose to enter their info for a receipt, or just walk away. If they walk away, we process the order on your assigned Anonymous Constituent record in Tessitura.

Quick Comparison Guide