Research shared by Phoenix Marketing International offers new data for Apple Pay‘s adoption and performance since it launched in the United States in October last year. The survey polled just over 3,000 credit cardholders to conclude that “11% of all credit card-owning households” and two out of three iPhone 6 users have used Apple Pay. Aside from a high adoption rate for the mobile payment service, the survey also highlights that almost half of those Apple Pay users have used the service just one time.
The report adds that 59% of the Apple Pay users polled have asked to use the mobile payment service in a retail store, although 47% were unable to use the service at an Apple Pay merchant because the specific location wasn’t ready for the payment type yet.
The report concludes that two out of three Apple Pay users surveyed reported issues at some point using the service, an experience not unfamiliar to me:
“Two-out-of-three Apple Pay users have reported a problem at checkout – mostly related to terminals not working or taking too long to make the transaction, inaccurate posting of transactions and the inability of cashiers to help buyers who needed assistance in using Apple Pay,” Majors added.
In terms of repeat Apple Pay users, the report noted that just 52% of users have used the service more than once since it launched late last year. The report also highlighted the difficulty with discovering merchants which accept Apple Pay and the lack of a central database aside from Apple’s microsite of partners.
Apple recently began offering merchants free decals to advertise Apple Pay payment support outside of businesses. Apple Pay has also added well over 100 banks and credit unions since the service launched with a handful of partners in late October.
When the Apple Watch debuts on April 24th next month, customers in the United States that pair the smartwatch with the iPhone 5, 5c, or 5s will be able to use Apple Pay for the first time as the service is currently limited to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus for in-store use.
If you have an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus with Apple Pay setup, let us know in our poll and the comments how many times you’ve used the mobile payment service in stores since it launched in October.
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I LOVE APPLE PAY! NEXT STEP US IT ON MY WATCH>
Imagine the look on the cashier’s face when you say, “I’d like to pay with my watch” :)
I loved it the first time I used my phone. WTF!!! HEHEHE
I know I’m an anomaly but I’ve easily used it 100+ times! Mostly Walgreen’s, but also Jewel, Panera, Macy’s, Apple Store, Subway, doctor’s office and some apps.
They need to get in more restaurant chains though! Hopefully by the end of this year… Chipotle, Jimmy Johns, Noodles, Roti, Cosi, etc
I have used it a lot of places also, mostly those you listed. I think the current problem is that its not always visible when people can use it. Most of us that read these blogs know where to use it or what type of readers should accept it but I think the average person probably doesn’t realize all the places it can be used.
I would use it all the time as I shop at the Meijer near my house regularly. However, my credit union is first adopting chip and pin tech before rolling out Apple Pay. So I’ve got to wait until later this year to really start using it. I’ve used it with another credit card, but I’d rather use it with Debit.
I use it weekly, never have issues.
Many of the stores/restaurants I’ve tried to use it seem to have issues with their equipment or their staff is not trained properly.
Yeah, I’ve had to ‘train’ cashiers on the spot. I’ve had to tell people at Subway and Goodwill to just enter in the amount like I was going to pay with a card. Then at that point I show them how I pay with the phone. They seem to think they need to do something “special” on their end.
I want Apple Pay to work, but it’s got a loooooong way to go. I’m not talking about the occasional user that just frequents places they know Apple Pay will work. I’m talking about walking into any store at anytime and checking out quickly via my phone. You know, like at a Japanese convenience store or train station over 10 years ago.
…or all of Australia, or UK, or other places around the world.
It’s a joke that this has been released ONLY in America, a place where they seem so far behind with technology.
I wouldn’t say we’re behind with technology (remember most, if not all, of the most popular operating systems were designed in the US), but there are certainly some things that we’ve failed at integrating, like cheap and efficient internet and wide-spread mobile payment systems.
One of the problems is the competitive nature of the companies involved. They all want you to use their system and not the other guy’s. Another problem is the US is really big, with most of its major metropolitan areas spread out across the country.
I use it all of the time. Over a 100 and use the free Mobile Pay Finder and Mastercard Nearby apps. I prefer Mobile Pay Finder. I do not use it in Drive Thrus unless I know they have the support for it.
There are some Apple Pay Merchants who are listed such as Jimmy John’s where Apple Pay is not fully deployed. The apps help figure that out.
There are times when I help the cashiers out as they figure out when to push the buttons to complete the transaction. From the Apple Pay side it’s just present the finger to be scanned.
From this survey if half of the 59% are using it more than once, that is significantly more than the reported 6% of users and as adoption continues this is a growth area. If 30% are not disappointed and continue to use it that is encouraging.
Meant to say Jersey Mike’s not Jimmy John’s although I have seen a few Jimmy John’s on the Mobile Pay Finder app.
maybe if I complain about this enough, someone out there that matters will actually see it. My issues with Apple Pay are
1) clearly not deployed in enough retailers for it to become a habit to use my phone instead of reaching for my wallet
2) even where it is deployed . . . its implementation is spotty. At Macy’s and Wholefoods after Apple Pay has gone thru, i’m still asked to sign the damn screen. Isn’t the whole point of using TouchID is for the processing backend to identify my identity? having to sign for something after scanning my fingerprint defeats the whole purpose.
consumers are creatures of habit, I need to make a conscious effort to try and use Apple Pay where it is accepted and even then, the experience is spotty.
The average user, once discovering that the experience is unreliable and unavailable at a lot of the places they shop, will default to their wallets.
You’re right on all accounts. If I can’t just scan it and go then it defeats the purpose. Having to sign or enter a pin is stupid.
I’ve always said that the only thing worse than something that never works is something that sometimes works.
When it works, it’s awesome. However, so frequently there are these various issues and poorly trained staff, etc., that it makes me feel like even as a patient early adopter I’ve only got a 50/50 chance of actually using it at a place that supports (at best).
For the general public, that’s just an unacceptable experience and will make them just decide not to ever try it because getting burned once is enough to learn it’s unreliable and their credit card will “just work.”
I have set it up but I haven’t used it. Why? Because it only works with my credit card and not my debit card. I don’t use my credit card unless I’m buying a high-priced item.
I have 2 personal cards: debit with Simple, and credit with Discover. Neither work with Apple Pay… yet.
I also have a work AMEX card, and I’ve added it to my iPhone 6, but I haven’t had an opportunity to use it yet.
The survey should’ve really been “how many times did you want to use Apple Pay but the store did not support it? “
I have attempted to use it three times. The first time was at an Apple store – no problem there. Second was at Staples, where I had to remove the phone from its case to get it to work. The third time, the transaction was declined, even though it worked 30 seconds later using the same credit card I have associated with Apple Pay.
So, I’ve only had about a 33% success rate with it so far. Not good.
Oh yeah – and I still had to sign the receipt at Staples. I thought that wasn’t supposed to be necessary since I have to use Touch ID in order to make the purchase.
Considering that the vast majority of iPhone 6 users don’t live in the US, and are no closer to getting Apple Pay than they where when the phone was launched, having 2 out of 3 iPhone 6 users in the US (derived from a poll of 3000 people), doesn’t indicate a success by any stretch of the imagination.
Apple Pay deserves to be a success, but it is a hell of a long way off being one at this moment in time.
I’m keen to use apple pay when it comes to the UK.
But for once, I’m happy for something to role out in the US ahead of here.
Hopefully by the time I can use it, all the problems will have been sorted.
I agree with you, I don’t get why others outside of the US want it.
UK and other countries might be ready for Apple Pay, but Apple Pay isn’t ready yet.
I love using Apple Pay and use it wherever I can. I have found it works flawlessly at Walgreens and McDonalds. It works most of the time at Subway. It’s been spotty at other merchants. It is frustrating to see the Apple Pay symbol then find it doesn’t work.
My first experience at Subway went like this:
Me: “I want to pay with my phone.”
Cashier: “We don’t do that here.”
Me: (point to machine) “That’s what that symbol means.”
Cashier: “Oh, I didn’t know that. Try it. Wow! That’s amazing!”
Nothing like training the cashier myself!
I chalk that up to the merchant not training their “high-turn-over-rate” employees.
I bet the owner/manager of the franchise are tired of training new employees all the time.
I use it several times a week in my local grocery store (ShopRite). Strangely, only half of their NFC terminals seem to work.
I occasionally use it elsewhere also. The funnest are the vending machines: I secretly enjoy the stares when I get the drink or snack painlessly after the people before me struggled to flatten their bills “just so”.
When ApplePay works it is great, but, I have had several problems using it. I once tried to use it at Panera, and the cashier told me ‘this is the only register that doesn’t take that’, so out came my card. I tried at Staples and the transaction didn’t complete, again I had to use my card. I tried it at CVS even though I knew it wouldn’t work because of the CurrentC garbage, and the transaction got all the way to the end and failed after the register informed me that ‘my payment was not supported’. I think I have only about a 25% success rate when using it at the store, so I just end up using my card because in the end it is faster. I have even had problems using ApplePay for an in-app payment. I was reloading my Starbucks card and it failed about 4 times before I switched to the password based payment.
I think that most of these problems are attributed to circumstances outside of Apple’s control. I wish it would work more consistently because, when it works it is like magic. I guess I will have to wait some time before it becomes more widely accepted.
Last week I returned from three weeks in Spain. Towards the end the trip I decided to activate Apple Pay. First try did not work. Had a discussion with the waiter. He told me they have had the equipment for a long time, way before it was announced by Apple. We tried different ways after he setup a sale of $0.01 to try out. Then he demonstrated how it works fine by using his credit card. He just got the credit card close to the machine, not touching it. Voilà. It works. NFC.
It turns out my settings were wrong. Found out they have the machines everywhere. I used it a few times. And all they do is get their credit card close to the machine. They bring the machine to you. The card never leaves your hands.
I use it all the time, about once a week or so, at my local grocery store (Save Mart). Sometimes large purchases require a signature but it’s still faster than swiping a card which also requires a signature. I’ve never had an issue and look forward to more vendors accepting it.
I only have one credit card that is currently accepted by the Apple Pay software. I can’t wait till Visa and MasterCard are accepted by Apple Pay.
I use it whenever I am able and I love it, the limiting factor being that many stores don’t yet offer any way of making payments with ApplePay or any other contactless payment method. It’s not so much the banks and Apple as much as it is chain stores like CVS or other places either not making it available or implementing it in a very inconsistent manner.
I use Apple Pay every time I go to Meijer, but I have not seen any other retailers set up for easily accepting NFC payments.