AppleInsider Staff
Apple Pay now accounts for two out of every three dollars processed through contactless payment systems, a huge achievement for Apple's NFC-based solution that debuted less than three months ago.
During Apple's quarterly conference call for the first quarter of 2015, company CEO Tim Cook announced huge uptake for Apple Pay since its activation in October, saying he expects even more growth as the year progresses.
"We are more confident than ever that 2015 will be the year of Apple Pay," Cook said.
The statistics up to this point are impressive. Initially, 500 banks and financial institutions pledged support for the service, but that number has swelled to around 750, with even more requesting to partner up. Discussing current retail partners, Cook said Apple Pay now represents 80 percent of contactless transactions at Panera Bread, while upscale grocer Whole Foods saw a 400 percent increase in contactless payments since the service launched.
Cook expressed surprise at seeing the rapid rate of Apple Pay adoption at retailers willing to update their point-of-sale terminals during the busy holiday season, a time when companies usually put such efforts on hold.
It was reported earlier today Apple Pay launched at 200,000 self-service stations across the U.S., including vending machines, commercial laundry machines, parking meters and more.
A research report in November estimated Apple Pay accounted for one percent of all digital payments, surpassing competing solutions from industry stalwarts like PayPal that have yet to get off the ground.
Apple's entry into mobile payments is a shot in the arm for the industry and has stoked accelerated competition from rival systems, including the Walmart and BestBuy-backed MCX. Earlier this month, a report claimed Google was looking to expand its Google Wallet service through the purchase of Softcard, a joint venture in contactless payments backed by Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
26 Comments
That's great news for North America. But here in Australia that number is closer to 0/3rds. I don't think I've seen a non-NFS POS terminal in months. Hurry up Apple Pay!
OMG reading that headline in 2015 is crazy. Imagine if someone showed you that headline in 2012? Unbelievable. Cook says he's surprised at the growth rate. This is the perfect time to have an NFC POS focused iPad. I see iPad sales are down(thanks iPhone 6+) and I think having a stronger focus on business will open up a whole market opportunity for them. I mean a HUGE untapped market, like taking over POS terminals and payment kiosks, etc. Even taking business further by adding features to replace plane monitors, inventory PDAs, hospital monitors etc.
Any news on when Discover Card will join ApplePay?
[quote name="djsherly" url="/t/184537/tim-cook-calls-2015-the-year-of-apple-pay-as-service-takes-over-contactless-payments-market#post_2667415"]That's great news for North America. But here in Australia that number is closer to 0/3rds. I don't think I've seen a non-NFS POS terminal in months. Hurry up Apple Pay![/quote] Are you certain it's because Apple is dragging their proverbial feet?
Apple Pay needs a web API to really really dominate payments IMHO.
Apple should come out with an API where supporting web checkout carts can query your phone/pad/keyboard/mouse for fingerprint payment.
I really don't want to install an app from any 1 vendor just because I want to buy 1 or 2 things from them every couple of months.
Take this scenario for instance...
I go to billybobslures.com on my Mac/iPhone/iPad and buy some night crawlers for my fishing trip next week. I go to checkout and click Apple Pay. The iphone/ipad/mightymouse3 asks for a fingerprint. Bam! card charged and shipping info filled out.. done.
Right now I need to install billybobslures' app to use ApplePay. That's just more trouble then it's worth.
Amazon and maybe Fandango are the only web vendors I might consider downloading an app for ApplePay. I mean.. download the Dominos app for Apple Pay pizzas? What if I feel like Pizza Hut today? Another app??!?!