Mobile wallet adoption may not be gaining traction for most, but Apple is an exception.
During the quarterly earnings call yesterday, the tech giant unveiled Apple Pay growth stats from its global markets, citing a 450% increase in transaction volume in “the last 12 months.” According to CEO Tim Cook:
Apple Pay is experiencing phenomenal traction. With the launch of Taiwan and Ireland in the March quarter, Apple Pay is now live in 15 markets with more than 20 million contactless-ready locations, including more than 4.5 million locations accepting Apple Pay in the U.S. alone.
We’re seeing strong growing usage as points of acceptance expand, with transaction volume up 450% over the last 12 months. In the UK, for example, points of acceptance have grown by 44% in the last year, while monthly Apple Pay transactions have grown by nearly 300%. In Japan, where Apple Pay launched last October, more than 0.5 million transit users are completing 20 million Apple Pay transactions per month. And we’re always excited to see our partners bring their customers new ways to use Apple Pay. You can now even send a Starbucks gift card via iMessage with just a touch.
This is the second consecutive quarter where Apple reported impressive growth for its mobile wallet; during its last quarter (reported in Jan. 2017), Apple Pay showed 500% growth in transaction volume, as the company expanded to four new countries, including Japan, Russia, New Zealand, and Spain.
The company did not disclose Apple Pay’s transaction volume growth for the U.S. market. Bank Innovation reached out for further comment.
Apple Pay is leading the pack among the most popular digital wallets out there. In fact, according to a recent report, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay — the largest mobile wallets out there — will together sign more than 150 million users by the end of the year, with Apple Pay users making up about 57% of that market. The study estimates that Apple Pay will hit 86 million users in 2017 globally.
The combined market share of Apple, Samsung, and Google (via Android Pay) is expected to reach 56% of total mobile contactless payments by 2021, the study suggests, with the combined userbase exceeding 500 million.