Apple Pay keeps growing, but can't catch Visa or Paypal

AppleInsider

New research says that Apple Pay is only the fifth most popular payment platform in the US, despite previous claims that it was beating MasterCard.

Apple Pay in use

In 2022, researchers claimed that Apple Pay had surpassed MasterCard in the annual dollar value of transactions, and by a long way. Where MasterCard processed around $4.8 trillion worth of transactions, Apple Pay was seeing over $6 trillion.

Now according to comparison service Merchant Machine, Apple Pay is significantly less popular than MasterCard. The key word there is "popular," though, as it appears the research is based on the number of transactions, rather than the total dollar value of them.

Nonetheless, by this measure, the list of the top five payment platforms in the US -- and their percentage of market share globally, is:

1. Visa (15.08%)


2. MasterCard (10.98%)


3. PayPal (10.7%)


4. American Express (9.97%)


5. Apple Pay (9.92%)

PayPal tops the list in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Visa tops the bill in North America and South America.

Apple Pay's worldwide popularity is similar

It's not fully clear what Merchant Machine means by the word "globally," though, as it's also produced a list of the most popular payment methods worldwide -- and the figures are different. Or rather, the percentage market share figures are wildly different, yet the ranking still sees Apple at number 5:

1. PayPal (20.53%)


2. Visa (15.67%)


3. MasterCard (10.49%)


4. American Express (8.77%)


5. Apple Pay (7.37%)

Apple Pay is also fifth when only figures from Europe are considered. Or Oceania.

In South America, Apple Pay drops out of the top five entirely. But for Asia it is in fourth place, while in Africa it comes in third.

Most popular payment platforms arranged by continent (Source: Merchant Machines)

Comparing Apple Pay to Google and Amazon

Where Apple Pay is reportedly the fifth most popular payment method in the world, Amazon is behind it in sixth place. But Apple's 7.37% is rather better than Amazon Payments 6.04%.

Lagging behind them is Google Pay in eighth position (below Shopify Pay). It has a 4.3% global market share.

Merchant Machine believes that none of these Big Tech payment systems will beat debit cards and PayPal. But it bases that on a survey of the UK, and that survey was conducted by the controversial YouGov firm.

The research also covered the prevalence of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services. Apple launched its own BNPL in June 2022. While the research does not rank BNPL by popularity, it doesn't even mention Apple Pay Later at all.

This research was reportedly based on data from BuiltWith, and the payment platform used when buying from the top one million most-visited sites worldwide.

Merchant Machines recently promoted itself with research about how often Apple products are seen in films and TV.

Read on AppleInsider

red oak

Apple Pay does not compete with Visa, MasterCard, or AMEX.  It rides on top of those networks

Apple does not process payments.  It relies on these networks for the actual transaction 

Why is this so hard to understand? 

red oak

I glanced at the research.  It is only online transactions.   That is a key data point here

75% of transactions are in-person 

neverindoubt

Apples to oranges nonsense.

avon b7

red oak said:

I glanced at the research.  It is only online transactions.   That is a key data point here

75% of transactions are in-person 

Absolutely. Thanks for that. I was scratching my head with PayPal topping Europe. That would seem impossible in my opinion. Even when considering online payments I'm still skeptical but I suppose it's possible. 

eightzero

red oak said:

Apple Pay does not compete with Visa, MasterCard, or AMEX.  It rides on top of those networks

Apple does not process payments.  It relies on these networks for the actual transaction 

Why is this so hard to understand? 

Yeah, I don't get this. I think PayPal is the same. I haven't used that in years. I use Apple Pay any time available, easily dozens of times a month. How do you use PayPal at a store? Isn't that an online only thingy?

iOS_Guy80

red oak said:

Apple Pay does not compete with Visa, MasterCard, or AMEX.  It rides on top of those networks

Apple does not process payments.  It relies on these networks for the actual transaction 

Why is this so hard to understand? 

Exactly look at the Titanium card and the logo on the back.

igorsky

Do they even need to catch up?

twolf2919

iOS_Guy80 said:

red oak said:

Apple Pay does not compete with Visa, MasterCard, or AMEX.  It rides on top of those networks

Apple does not process payments.  It relies on these networks for the actual transaction 

Why is this so hard to understand? 

Exactly look at the Titanium card and the logo on the back.

You're just as confused.  Apple Card has nothing to do with Apple Pay.  It's a Mastercard that has extra integration with Apple Wallet and extra benefits when used with Apple Pay.

wood1208

If I can pay from other platform like my Windows laptop using Apple Pay, I would use it in place of PayPal.

lmasanti

Maybe… just maybe… it would be nice to know how long each company was operating:

VISA 1958

PayPal 1998

MasterCard 1966

Diner's 1950 

American Express 958 (The company  is from 1850)

Apple Pay 2014

So… again, maybe, maybe… this is not so bad for a… less than 10 years old company!

(But remind… showing Apple as a failure get page views!)

danox

red oak said:

I glanced at the research.  It is only online transactions.   That is a key data point here

75% of transactions are in-person 

But not in the future, the traditional technophobic middleman will be left by the wayside. On another front if the Apple’s Vision Pro takes with the new front row seat technology it just may, put a dent in Ticketmaster’s concert/special event monopoly no more worries about getting the cheap seat way in the back, Messi isn’t playing in North America for nothing, how many of those games are being filmed with the new technology that Apple created? That is bigger than AAA games, because the audience is potentially most of the human race, instead of a few geeks in the basement playing Fortnite.

Imagine being at the local Internet bar with your friends and you’re all wearing a Apple’s Vision Pro’s and you’re attending some concert/or event halfway around the world, without Ticketmaster getting in the way, hmm…. That would suggest that Apple had better get into the server/router business again?

doggone

It looks like ApplePay customers use it for large transactions.  That would explain why it tops the spend volume but not the transaction number.  I imagine PayPal is the opposite: high number of transactions but low value.
Also PayPal is online only.  ApplePay can be used in shops and online.

I've been thinking about why Goldman Sachs is losing money on the AppleCard.  I think it is because the app on the phone makes it easy to pay off the balance to avoid late charges and interest.  That means Sachs only make money off transaction fees. 

daven

Discover was my go to payment option but since Apple Pay gives me a little more back, I switched. For the current period’s promotion, Discover is offering 5% back at gas stations and digital payments so if I use Discover via the Apple digital wallet tool, I get 5% back up to a maximum of $75 back. Yes I know other cards have better rewards programs but I limit myself to two cards (used to have three but B of A dropped me because i didn’t use them much because they didn’t have a rewards program. And yes, probably like a lot of you, I’m a credit card deadbeat in the eyes of the card companies because I pay off my balance monthly.

avon b7

danox said:

red oak said:

I glanced at the research.  It is only online transactions.   That is a key data point here

75% of transactions are in-person 

But not in the future, the traditional technophobic middleman will be left by the wayside. On another front if the Apple’s Vision Pro takes with the new front row seat technology it just may, put a dent in Ticketmaster’s concert/special event monopoly no more worries about getting the cheap seat way in the back, Messi isn’t playing in North America for nothing, how many of those games are being filmed with the new technology that Apple created? That is bigger than AAA games, because the audience is potentially most of the human race, instead of a few geeks in the basement playing Fortnite.

Imagine being at the local Internet bar with your friends and you’re all wearing a Apple’s Vision Pro’s and you’re attending some concert/or event halfway around the world, without Ticketmaster getting in the way, hmm…. That would suggest that Apple had better get into the server/router business again?

Isn't Apple the middleman?

'Online' payments will never outstrip 'in person' payments. 

mike1

Amazing how people here are confusing the payment processing (Apple Pay) with the payment method and the Apple credit card.

I use Apple Pay with my bank's debit card for most in-person purchases, wherever Apple Pay is accepted.

I use Apple Pay with my Apple, or any other credit card, for any purchases I want to put on a credit card, in person and online wherever Apple Pay is accepted.

I use my debit card manually whenever Apple Pay is not available at a store. This happens less and less these days.

I use my credit card of choice manually whenever Apple Pay is not available at a store or online. This still happens occasionally. Looking at you Home Depot and most restaurants.

chadbag

Not sure what this even means.  Apple Pay is not analogous to MC or Visa.  Unless you’re using Apple Cash, it’s more an abstraction layer on top of visa and MC.  Every time I use Apple Pay it is using a Visa or a MC product for actual payment. 

This comparison does not make sense. 

chadbag

eightzero said:

red oak said:

Apple Pay does not compete with Visa, MasterCard, or AMEX.  It rides on top of those networks

Apple does not process payments.  It relies on these networks for the actual transaction 

Why is this so hard to understand? 

Yeah, I don't get this. I think PayPal is the same. I haven't used that in years. I use Apple Pay any time available, easily dozens of times a month. How do you use PayPal at a store? Isn't that an online only thingy?

There are ways to use PayPal in stores. Not sure how but I’ve seen it at checkout registers as an option. Stores have to support it. 

danox

avon b7 said:

danox said:

red oak said:

I glanced at the research.  It is only online transactions.   That is a key data point here

75% of transactions are in-person 

But not in the future, the traditional technophobic middleman will be left by the wayside. On another front if the Apple’s Vision Pro takes with the new front row seat technology it just may, put a dent in Ticketmaster’s concert/special event monopoly no more worries about getting the cheap seat way in the back, Messi isn’t playing in North America for nothing, how many of those games are being filmed with the new technology that Apple created? That is bigger than AAA games, because the audience is potentially most of the human race, instead of a few geeks in the basement playing Fortnite.

Imagine being at the local Internet bar with your friends and you’re all wearing a Apple’s Vision Pro’s and you’re attending some concert/or event halfway around the world, without Ticketmaster getting in the way, hmm…. That would suggest that Apple had better get into the server/router business again?

Isn't Apple the middleman?

'Online' payments will never outstrip 'in person' payments. 

Technophobic middleman defined as Visa, MasterCard, American Express and the rest of the banks, savings and loans and other financial institutions in the world, the old fogies should have been pitching, Apple or Google in regards to creating a new way of paying using new tech, instead it happened the other way around, now they have Google pay Apple Pay and PayPal in the market with a foot in the door, as time goes on, the original old guard will become even more irrelevant, unless they go lobby for government help to save them. (which they have been doing).

avon b7

danox said:

avon b7 said:

danox said:

red oak said:

I glanced at the research.  It is only online transactions.   That is a key data point here

75% of transactions are in-person 

But not in the future, the traditional technophobic middleman will be left by the wayside. On another front if the Apple’s Vision Pro takes with the new front row seat technology it just may, put a dent in Ticketmaster’s concert/special event monopoly no more worries about getting the cheap seat way in the back, Messi isn’t playing in North America for nothing, how many of those games are being filmed with the new technology that Apple created? That is bigger than AAA games, because the audience is potentially most of the human race, instead of a few geeks in the basement playing Fortnite.

Imagine being at the local Internet bar with your friends and you’re all wearing a Apple’s Vision Pro’s and you’re attending some concert/or event halfway around the world, without Ticketmaster getting in the way, hmm…. That would suggest that Apple had better get into the server/router business again?

Isn't Apple the middleman?

'Online' payments will never outstrip 'in person' payments. 

Technophobic middleman defined as Visa, MasterCard, American Express and the rest of the banks, savings and loans and other financial institutions in the world, the old fogies should have been pitching, Apple or Google in regards to creating a new way of paying using new tech, instead it happened the other way around, now they have Google pay Apple Pay and PayPal in the market with a foot in the door, as time goes on, the original old guard will become even more irrelevant, unless they go lobby for government help to save them. (which they have been doing).

What you are saying doesn't make sense. 

EMV was introduced years ago. Whether you like it or not there is nothing technophobic about it. What was Apple doing back then and on what scale? 

Even today, Apple Pay and Apple Card depend on those same banking entities. 

Apple simply produces a last hop solution. 

It can use technology to improve that last hop because that technology is already on the device. It's also very expensive. 

That isn't an option when you are looking for a solution that can distributed worldwide cheaply and to virtually any developed nation and people that don't use phones. 

Apple Pay integrates the cards from traditional card issuers. 

Apple Card depends on a third party. 

On all Apple devices, Apple Pay is the middleman. A middleman that is forced on all iPhone purchasers (Apple doesn't allow competition) but a middleman that nevertheless depends on those card issuing banks and systems like EMV. 

texfla

Can we assume that Venmo payments are included with the PayPal numbers since Venmo is owned by PayPal?