Apple Pay has become the most popular mobile payment platform in the US.
An eMarketer report has suggested that Apple Pay has overtaken the popular Starbucks mobile payment app to become the largest mobile payment platform in the United States.
Apple Pay reportedly became the market leader last year, when more than 27.7 million Americans used the service to make a purchase, and since then, it has grown even further.
By the end of this year, Apple Pay is expected to have 30.3 million users, representing an incredible 47.3 percent of mobile payment users.
Compare that to Starbucks, which has 25.2 million customers via its mobile app, with a 39.4% penetration, and it’s clear that Apple is head and shoulders above the competition.
eMarketer principal analyst Yory Wurmser said that: “Apple Pay has benefited from the spread of new point-of-sale (POS) systems that work with the NFC signals Apple Pay runs on.
“The same trend should also help Google Pay and Samsung Pay, but they will continue to split the Android market.”
The report suggested that Apple Pay will be an option in around 70% of retailers in the US by the end of the year.
Though Starbucks is a behemoth and sports impressive figures, its payment service can only be used in Starbucks stores to buy coffees and snacks.
Across the United States, contactless spending via mobile payment methods will reach $100 billion, according to eMarketer, which is equivalent to each user spending $1,545 per year.
That figure is up almost a quarter over 2018’s figures, demonstrating the rising growth of the contactless sector, and changing consumer attitudes towards such payment technology.
Indeed, 64 million Americans will use mobile payments this year, up almost 10% on last year, whilst adults aged 25 to 34 will use contactless and Apple Pay more than any other age group.
Having said that, digital wallet use is growing exponentially across all age categories.
However, Vincent Yip from eMarketer added that “although a growing number of millennials feel secure using payment apps, virtually all still find credit and debit cards equally convenient.”
Are you using Apple Pay more now than you were a few years ago? Let us know your thoughts over on Twitter and check back soon for more information, as and when we get it.