Apple Pay Statistics That Show Mobile Payments Are the Future
Digital wallets and contactless mobile payments have experienced a surge in popularity in recent years, with Apple Pay being one of the major winners in this space.
Using Apple Pay for money transactions is straightforward yet effective; simply add a credit, debit, or prepaid card to the Wallet app on your iOS device, and you’re good to go. Let’s look at some Apple Pay statistics that are sure to convince you to activate it and begin enjoying the benefits of contactless payments.
Keep in mind that all the figures are more of an estimate than exact numbers due to Apple’s ban on sharing user information and figures.
Statistics on Apple Pay for 2024 - Editor’s Picks
- Apple Pay gained 66 million new users in 2020.
- Six out of ten people in the UK used Apple Pay for point-of-sale transactions in 2021.
- Apple Pay has a 43.9% mobile payment market share in the US.
- Despite having over 500 million registered users worldwide, Apple Pay failed to make any inroads in China.
- Apple Pay accounted for a staggering 92% of the mobile debit wallet market in the US in 2020.
Apple Pay Adoption Statistics
Statistics show that the adoption rate of contactless payment services has boomed over the past two years. Even those who weren’t that thrilled initially are slowly coming around now that it has become almost inevitable as a payment option. First, let’s look at some stats on the adoption of Apple Pay services to better understand how far-reaching this service has really become in recent years.
Apple Pay’s user base has surprassed 507 million.
(Statista)
According to the survey released in November 2020 and conducted from 2016 to 2020, the number of Apple Pay users worldwide has increased by well over 600% in just four years. With only 67 million users in 2016, Apple Pay wasn’t a very popular payment method at launch or in the first few years after it.
However, the figures have increased to a massive 507 million users in 2020. If we compare 2019 and 2020 data, we can see that the use of Apple Pay has grown by almost 15% in that year alone.
Around 93% of US smartphones had access to Apple Pay in 2020.
(Pymnts)
Apple Pay growth in the US has been staggering in recent years. Only 39% of all iOS devices could use Apple Pay functionalities in 2015, but the number grew to nearly 93% in just five years. As older devices slowly get phased out, we’ll undoubtedly start reaching 100% soon. That said, adoption is not quite at the same level yet, and many people still use credit cards for payments instead of going for mobile wallets such as Apple Pay.
Over 48% of iOS users worldwide activated Apple Pay in 2019.
(Statista)
Apple Pay usage statistics from September 2019 show that 441 million people have activated Apple Pay. It’s a significant increase compared to the 33 percent usage reach in 2018, even more so than just nine percent of Apple users who activated the payment feature back in 2016.
The UK topped Apple Pay transactions in 2021, with 63% of people using it at least once in stores or restaurants.
(Statista)
As of August 2021, the United Kingdom tops a list of seventeen countries worldwide both for online payments and those made through the point of sale (POS) systems. According to Apple Pay statistics for the UK, the country ranked first when it comes to payments in stores, restaurants, and other point-of-sale systems, and its users made over a fifth of all online Apple Pay payments, too.
The second on the list is the United States, with 54% of POS transactions and 21% of online payments, followed by Canada with 54% and 20%.
Apple Pay dominates the US mobile payment market with a 43.9% share.
(Business of Apps)
Knowing that iPhone ranks third in the global smartphone market, it’s no wonder that iOS mobile devices are so popular in the US and that so many Americans choose to pay for goods and services using Apple Pay. Interestingly, Samsung Pay and Google Pay only took third and fourth place in the US.
Apple Pay adoption stats show that the Cupertino giant’s solution dominates the market ahead of a surprising competitor - Starbucks.
Apple Pay transactions dominated the US mobile debit wallet market in 2020, accounting for 92% of all payments.
(Pulse Network)
Around two billion debit transactions were completed in 2020 through Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Samsung and Google counted for less than 10% of the overall payment volume, with the latter having only a 3% share.
Despite having half a billion users worldwide, Apple Pay is almost non-existent in China.
(Business of Apps)
Apple Pay user statistics reveal that despite the unbeatable popularity of contactless payment methods in China (87.3%), its mobile ecosystem hasn’t been receptive to Apple and other US companies. Even though iPhones are becoming increasingly popular in the country, Apple Pay hasn’t managed to make any significant inroads on the market.
The two local mobile payment services, AliPay and WeChat Pay hold a massive duopoly on all eCommerce payments, with 650 million and 550 million registered users, for a total of 96% of the market share. Apple Pay and other big mobile payment names such as Google Pay, PayPal, Paytm, PhonePe, and Samsung Pay haven’t had much success in making a dent in the world’s largest market.
Industry-Related Apple Pay Statistics
Now that we figured out where Apple Pay stands in terms of global and US adoption stats, we can deal with some industry-specific themes. We compiled a list of facts and stats indicating which industries widely accepted Apple Pay as a payment method and are slowly leaning into it. Also, we can take a look at the presence of specific sectors in the Apple Pay ecosystem and the perspectives and anticipations for the future. Stay with us and learn more about contactless payment methods' market share and views.
As of 2020, 5,480 banks worldwide supported Apple Pay.
(LoupFunds)
Judging by these Apple Pay stats, things are changing for the better in the traditionally hesitant banking sector. The number of banks that offer Apple Pay as a payment method increased to 5,480 in 2020. This represents a growth of 29% compared to the year before and 41% compared to 2018, when the number of supporting banks was only 2,707. The figures indicate that banks are doing their best to align their payment methods with consumer behavior.
41% of US customers made an Apple Pay purchase in McDonald's during 2015.
(Statista)
Those wondering about McDonald's Apple Pay statistics will be glad to hear that the American fast-food company accounted for 41% of all Apple Pay in-store transactions in the US in 2015. This put McDonald’s just behind the Apple Store with 42 percent, ahead of Macy’s, which saw Apple Pay usage by 36% of its customers. Other names on the list were Subway, Nike, Walgreens, Whole Foods, and much more.
We are looking forward to new research that will provide us with further insight into the post-pandemic trends.
Disadvantages of Using Apple Pay
If you’ve read up carefully on our Apple Pay statistics and facts, you’ve probably noticed positive and negative trends in using this payment service. One reason the service still isn’t as popular as it could be is that some people find it less intuitive than classic credit and debit cards. Another is privacy and cyber security concerns. With 33% of Americans being victims of identity theft, these concerns are more than understandable. Here is some data that deals with the less flashy side of using contactless payment services.
Apple Pay’s fraud rate in 2015 was 6%, 60 times the average credit card fraud rate.
(CNNBusiness)
Apple Pay fraud statistics indicate that the fraud rate related to transactions with this payment service was a real problem in its first years. The figure represents 60 times the average credit card fraud rate and is a big turn-off for consumers. Even though Apple Pay’s system hasn’t been hacked, cybercriminals use stolen credit cards and enter them into smartphones to make purchases.
Loading up credit cards on an iPhone is still relatively easy and doesn’t require much in the way of authentication. As a result, many consumers had to reach out to identity theft services or banks to protect their stolen assets in the past.
FAQ
How widely is Apple Pay accepted?
Apple pay usage data indicates that this contactless payment method is widely accepted worldwide. In the US in 2019, some 63% of merchants reported that they accepted Apple Pay, while 26 percent claimed they were planning on implementing it within two years. In 2020, the number of banks that accept Apple Pay as a payment method increased by 29% compared to 2019, and we expect new research will unveil many more adopters in the future.
Are people using Apple Pay?
Absolutely. Statistics show that Apple Pay has well over 500 million users worldwide. However, one sore point for the company has been the Asian market, especially China, whose market is dominated by local commerce giants AliPay and WeChat Pay.
How many people use Apple Pay or Google Pay?
Apple Pay vs. Google Pay statistics in 2020 revealed that the iOS payment platform outperformed the competitor mobile payment brands by quite a bit. Apple owns around 43.9% of the US mobile market share, while Google Pay only has around 25%. Things are even worse for Google in the mobile debit wallet market, which saw Apple Pay account for a staggering 92% of all transactions in 2020.
What are the disadvantages of Apple Pay?
One of the significant drawbacks of Apple Pay and similar services is the ease of use for people used to more traditional payment methods. Also, consumers tend to avoid mobile payment services due to privacy issues and fraud risks. All of these factors make many users turn to credit cards as they feel credit card readers can help them make quicker and safer transactions than their iPhone devices.
Is Apple Pay secure?
Apple Pay is packed with security features that make your transactions safe and secure. Aside from top-notch encryption and optional two-factor authentication, it offers a chip-based technology called Near-Field Communication (NFC). However, Apple Pay statistics showed some worrying trends in the past. The fraud rate related to transactions with this payment service reached a whopping 6% in 2015, 60 times the average credit card fraud rate. Most of these frauds resulted from Apple making it too easy to load up the system with stolen credit cards, rather than any security fault on the payment processing side of things.
Sources
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