Apple Pay likely to get boost from Visa & Mastercard mandating contactless payment terminals

Apple Pay should get a major lift within the next five years from a pair of factors, according to new research, most notably contactless support demanded by credit card giants Visa and Mastercard.

By 2020, both companies will require payment terminals in many markets to offer the technology, Juniper Research noted. The lack of compatible sales terminals has been a consistent obstacle in U.S. Apple Pay adoption, such that some retailers — like Anthropologie — have promised support for years without delivering.

Growth may also be aided by shoppers wanting to avoid the slower speeds of chip card transactions, which are presently replacing magnetic swipes.

U.S. contactless payments at retail are forecast to rise from 2 percent this year to 34 percent by 2022, Juniper said. Globally, figures are predicted to rise from 15 percent to 53 percent, reflecting the technology's greater popularity in countries like Poland, Japan, and the U.K.

Apple is planning relatively modest expansion of Apple Pay this fall. The platform will arrive in four more countries by the end of the year, and iOS 11 will enable person-to-person money transfers, potentially biting into the revenue of companies like Square and PayPal.

46 Comments

mknelson 1148 comments · 9 Years

About 7 years ago

Slower speeds of chip card transactions? Do you guys process them "weird" in the US?

Insert card, hit OK, enter PIN, done. Doesn't really take any more time than signing.

anantksundaram 20391 comments · 18 Years

Apple should make these terminals. Design them simply and beautifully, give them away at cost, and charge retailers a little extra on every transaction to make a profit. They will blow away the PoS terminal market, and encourage wide adoption of ApplePay. The spillover effects for other Apple hardware (Watch, iPhone) would be positive as well.

ApplePay is sheer genius, but pathetically marketed and rolled out (I mean that with respect to PoS, and online).

As an aside, does anyone else have glitches with the implementation of ApplePay online where it asks for a confirmation via the Watch? I usually give up after a half dozen tries, when it keeps saying "woking on it" (or something to that effect) for a while.

joogabah 139 comments · 14 Years

mknelson said:

Slower speeds of chip card transactions? Do you guys process them "weird" in the US?

Insert card, hit OK, enter PIN, done. Doesn't really take any more time than signing.

In the USA, you don't enter a PIN (I know, it's stupid). You insert the card and wait 15 to 20 seconds (which feel like an eternity standing in line with people waiting behind you) until the terminal sounds a loud, sometimes startling series of beeps to indicate you should remove your card.

sirlance99 1301 comments · 11 Years

anantksundaram said:

Apple should make these terminals. Design them simply and beautifully, give them away at cost, and charge retailers a little extra on every transaction to make a profit. They will blow away the PoS terminal market, and encourage wide adoption of ApplePay. The spillover effects for other Apple hardware (Watch, iPhone) would be positive as well.

ApplePay is sheer genius, but pathetically marketed and rolled out (I mean that with respect to PoS, and online).

As an aside, does anyone else have glitches with the implementation of ApplePay online where it asks for a confirmation via the Watch? I usually give up after a half dozen tries, when it keeps saying "woking on it" (or something to that effect) for a while.

Never going to happen for so many reasons.

maestro64 5029 comments · 19 Years

joogabah said:

mknelson said:

Slower speeds of chip card transactions? Do you guys process them "weird" in the US?

Insert card, hit OK, enter PIN, done. Doesn't really take any more time than signing.

In the USA, you don't enter a PIN (I know, it's stupid). You insert the card and wait 15 to 20 seconds (which feel like an eternity standing in line with people waiting behind you) until the terminal sounds a loud, sometimes startling series of beeps to indicate you should remove your card.

I hate the whole chip and pin idea, who's stupid idea was that. I remember when Apple Pay came out all the people from EU said it was not needed since the problem (theft) was solved with chip and pin. Every chance I get I use Apple pay it is a 2 second thing and those who have it set up correctly it does not even required a signature. I travel outside the US where Chip and Pin is required with the CC and it is a pain and take longer and a few times I almost left the card in a Gas Pump. Most stores and restaurants will make sure you do not leave the card behind since it happens all the time. One time I could not remember the PIN on the company card and you enter it wrong a few times and they lock the card on you, what royal pain.
Apple pay is the perfect example of how to fix a problem the right way verse all the other bad solutions other has come up with. Apple was the only one who could have fixed this since they control the hardware and software. The Banks trusted what they were doing.
I am still seeing lots of locations which the new POS terminals but they do not accept the chip and pin or apple pay, they have it disable, This is good think for Samsung pay which they can still emulate the mag-strip.