Apple Pay takes off

Now that the dust has settled after its launch, reliable evidence is emerging that Apple Pay is a success.  Collin Consulting partner Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG) has launched Apple Pay Tracker, a longitudinal study that will monitor consumer adoption and usage of the mobile wallet throughout 2015 (click here for the ACG press release). 

Results from the first 8 weeks of the survey are impressive, with 42% of iPhone 6 users having successfully made a payment, 75% of these having made a repeat transaction at the same location, and a whopping 98% reporting a positive experience.  Moreover, of iPhone users who had not yet downloaded the app, 47% intended to use Apple Pay in the next 6 months.

These are remarkable results for any new payments initiative, let alone for one with all the potential complications of mobile payments.  They are, I believe, a testament to the strength of the Apple brand, the degree to which the brand inspires trust, and the first-rate design and delivery of this new product.

One of the things I like about Apple Pay is that it is firmly based on EMV chip technology. The same principles which make EMV chip cards secure also underpin the security of Apple Pay.  A feature which is not widely understood is that every Apple Pay transaction is protected by a unique EMV cryptogram which proves that the transaction is genuine and means fraudulently replaying the transaction is well nigh impossible.  Other features, such as biometric fingerprint authentication and the use of "tokenisation" or surrogate card numbers, show that Apple has taken the security of the new product very seriously.  This is reflected in the ACG survey results: although 29% of non-users were concerned about security, 45% of users gave superior security as a key benefit!

In previous Opinion articles I've expressed scepticism about mobile payments, especially mobile NFC.  I still think it will be many years before mobile payments seriously challenge the dominance of good old plastic cards.  After all, in terms of absolute numbers, the total volume or value of Apple Pay transactions must still be a tiny fraction of 1% of the huge $3 trillion US retail payment market (see this Mashable article for a useful discussion).  But I do now think this successful launch of Apple Pay means that mobile payments are here to stay.  Moreover, with NFC contactless acceptance finally becoming widespread in the UK, I expect big things with the imminent launch of Apple Pay here.

To subscribe to ACG's Apple Pay Tracker programme, or for more information about ACG's research, please contact Marianne Berry at +1 212-323-700 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.