This is why Apple Pay services adoption will accelerate fast

The growing number of Apple Pay supporting outlets won’t even fit the page

Once upon a time the US lagged behind the rest of the world in contactless payments, which is why when Apple first introduced Apple Pay, critics derided the service would never be successful. How times change.

Now everyone is doing it

Thanks to NFCW, I chanced upon an interesting report that shows the extent to which change has taken place. The report, from a hospitality engagement platform called Union, shows why the critics were and always will be wrong.

It shows that nearly 40% of US consumers already prefer to pay for their orders at restaurants and bars using mobile payment apps like Apple Pay, rather than physical cards.

This is all grist to the mill of Apple’s vision for payments under Tim Cook.

The CEO recently described the strategy behind Apple Pay.

“What we’re trying to do with our payments work is … sort of like we’ve done on the Watch where we’re focused on helping people live a healthier day. With our financial products, we’re helping people have a better financial health. So, we’re trying to help our users… but these things have to stand on their own, obviously, but we’re very user-focused so we’re listening to them at what things provide them pinch points and orchestrate our roadmaps around that.”

It doesn’t hurt that customers investing in payment via a mobile device become more attached to Apple’s products.

Adoption of smartphones in store transactions grows

The results also show that 44% of them are “okay” to use QR codes to look at menus but would like to be able to order food and drink from their phone as well. Even if they don’t like the QR codes, over half of those who come across them will use the system if they see it.

“The study also reported that, on average, consumers at bars and restaurants wait 10 minutes for the bill, which could be a contributing factor for guests preferring to quickly pay with a mobile device and avoid waiting for the check.”

“The most interesting takeaways we found from this survey is that consumers are frustrated with service speed and open to technology for support,” said Layne Cox, Union’s chief marketing officer.

Nearly nine in ten Americans are now using some form of digital payments, a recent McKinsey survey said. More than two-thirds of Americans expect to have a digital wallet (think Apple Pay) within two years.

Apple Pay Later, emerging economies and more

Also interesting, particularly as Apple seeks to build out its own financial services arm, is that the McKinsey survey also predicts a 30% increase in the number of consumers prepared to use Buy Now Pay Later services.

That’s serendipitous for Apple, given it only recently launched Apple Pay Later in the US. It means consumers, who already use smartphones for payments, will soon come round to using these devices for loans.

Don’t ignore those emerging economies. Apple Pay went live in El Salvador and Guatemala this week. It was made available in South Korea in March, in Kuwait in October 2022 and in Malaysia and Qatar in August the same year.

Given Apple’s relatively low market share in these nations, the road to new markets characterized by fresh user loyalty is closer than we think.

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