Apple Pay and other digital wallets overtook cash in popularity for 2020 in-store purchases

In 2020, consumers pulled out their digital wallets, like Apple Pay, more often than they did physical wallets when they paid in-store, according to a new FIS study. For the first time, payments using mobile digital wallets overtook cash payments on in-store purchases on a global basis last year.

Head of Merchant Solutions at FIS, Jim Johnson, said that “the global pandemic has brought a cashless future closer on the horizon.”

According to the study, cash usage dropped 10% in 2020 to account for only one-fifth of all face-to-face payments worldwide. In Canada, UK, France, Norway, Sweden, and Australia, use of cash for in-store payments fell by half or more.

Cash payments in the US also made up $1T of store payments last year, down from $1.4T in 2019. All of these countries have had Apple Pay and other digital wallets, as Samsung Pay and Google Pay, for quite some time as well. In the US, hundreds of banks are available on Apple Pay, and many stores have adopted contactless payment, such as BestBuy, Sephora, Starbucks, and many more.

The Asia-Pacific region leads in the use of mobile wallets, with about 40% of in-store payments in the region being conducted through contactless payments. Mobile wallet usage also grew across all regions of the globe, and now accounts for about 10% of in-store payments in North American, 8% in the Middle East and Africa, 7% in Europe, and 6% in Latin American.

The study projects that by 2024, cash will make up less than 10% of in-store payments in the US and just 13% worldwide.

On e-commerce, total spending jumped 19% last year to $4.6T in value, the biggest increase in five years, according to the study. It could grow to $7.3T by 2024.

Apple Pay: How to add a card on the iPhone’s Wallet

If you don’t use Apple Pay already, here are the steps to start paying with your iPhone:

1. Go to Wallet and tap +.
2. To add a Credit or Debit card, you can scan it or enter card details manually.
3. Follow your bank instructions.
4. Tap Next. Your bank or card issuer will verify your information and decide if you can use your card with Apple Pay. If your bank or issuer needs more information to verify your card, they’ll ask you for it. When you have the information, go back to Wallet and tap your card.
5. After your bank or issuer verifies your card, tap Next. Then start using Apple Pay.

If you are on iPhone with Face ID, just double click the Side button. if you use an iPhone with Touch ID, triple tap the Home button.

If you need any more help to set Apple Pay on your iPhone or other Apple device, check out our guide here.