Apple’s mobile payment service Apple Pay is quietly dominating a $2 trillion industry, proving that patience is a competitive edge for companies that know how to wield it.
In excess of 75 percent of iPhones now have Apple Pay activated with at least one form of payment and 90 percent of all U.S. stores accept the contactless payment method.
When you think about it, Apple Pay has almost managed to pull off the most coveted feat of branding–it’s basically synonymous with contactless payments. I’ve literally never heard anyone ask, “Do you accept Google Pay or Samsung Pay?” It’s possible that no one is using either service, but I think it’s more likely that people just think of anytime you tap your phone to a card reader as Apple Pay.
Listening to [Apple CEO Tim] Cook talk about the success of Apple Pay, he emphasized that “the growth of Apple Pay has just been stunning. It’s been absolutely stunning.”
More important, however, he suggested it still had a lot of room to grow because “there’s still a lot of cash in the environment.” To be more specific, cash is used for roughly 20 percent of all transactions, though that’s down from 26 percent in 2019.It’s not hard to see why Apple is patiently pursuing Apple Pay dominance. Some analysts estimate contactless payments to be worth almost $2 trillion. That’s real money, and Apple didn’t become the world’s most valuable company by ignoring opportunities like that. It also makes the iPhone even more valuable — which is priceless.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple proves, once again, that patience is a virtue.
Nobody in their right mind expects this to happen overnight. Inexorably, Apple Pay will grow around the world. — MacDailyNews, June 2, 2016
Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!
Shop The Apple Store at Amazon.
Apple Pay accelerated exponentially during the China Virus nightmare. Whether using your AW or iPhone the ability to pay WITHOUT TOUCHING THE TERMINAL or getting your wallet out to retrieve a credit card is a huge plus factor. Personally the Watch is best because every time you pull your phone out it is an opportunity to drop it or have someone steal it.
Additionally, the transaction shows up immediately on the iPhone for confirmation.
Lastly, I recently had to cancel a charge and it worked well via the iPhone app.
Love it, works great……
Now all Tim Cook needs to do is buy a bank and setup his own ledger for the Apple Card so he can keep the swipe fees.
Right-o Bill !
Bill is spot on, but I’m still shocked with the lack of “tap” pay terminals in the US. Certainly more than pre pandemic, especially in the urban centres, but much less common in rural areas. On a road trip from North Dakota to Las Vegas this summer I found that many gas stations still use chip/pin or even swipe.
In Canada, most gas stations have tap available at the pump, and it even links to loyalty cards. Apple Pay is now my default method of payment. More secure than regular tap and easier than getting out a specific card in my wallet.
I’m not sure why but Apple Pay is the fastest way to pay at a gas pump. Its the only way I buy gas now. Double click the watch, waive it at the sensor and start pumping. Its crazy fast at all the convenance stores in Oklahoma. Not sure why its so much faster than cards other than the fact you don’t have to enter your zip code.