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The Almighty Buck United States

Apple Pay Overtakes Starbucks as Most Popular Mobile Payment Platform in the US (macrumors.com) 67

Apple Pay has overtaken the Starbucks mobile app to become the most popular mobile payment system in the United States, claims a new report out today. From a report: According to eMarketer, Apple Pay became the market leader last year, when 27.7 million Americans used the app to make a purchase. Since then, however, Apple Pay has grown even faster than expected. In 2019, Apple Pay will have 30.3 million users, or 47.3 percent of mobile payment users. That compares with Starbucks' 25.2 million customers via its mobile app in the same year, representing 39.4 percent of mobile payment users. "Apple Pay has benefited from the spread of new point-of-sale (POS) systems that work with the NFC signals Apple Pay runs on," said eMarketer principal analyst Yory Wurmser. "The same trend should also help Google Pay and Samsung Pay, but they will continue to split the Android market."
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Apple Pay Overtakes Starbucks as Most Popular Mobile Payment Platform in the US

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  • I'm not a Starbucks person at all (though I'm always amazed on weekend mornings how PACKED the Starbucks drive thrus are). But I would've never thought that the Starbucks payment app was THE #1 way of doing payments by phone - over Apple, Google or Samsung...
    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Something doesn't add up here. TFA is claiming that Apple and Starbucks have 86.7% of the market between them, leaving only 13.3% for all the others.

      I find it hard to believe that Google Pay accounts for less than 13.3% of the market. Android is the most popular mobile OS by far and Google Pay is the default payment system on it.

      • Something doesn't add up here. TFA is claiming that Apple and Starbucks have 86.7% of the market between them, leaving only 13.3% for all the others.

        I find it hard to believe that Google Pay accounts for less than 13.3% of the market. Android is the most popular mobile OS by far and Google Pay is the default payment system on it.

        I think the reason may be partly because Starbucks charges were made from both from iPhone and Android platforms. Suspiciously, they never say what percent of contactless payments were made on Android but mention they were split from Google Pay and Samsung Pay. Not that I'm necessarily saying anything, but would you expect anything less from a biased site like _Mac Rumors_? I don't know this for certain, but one could probably guess 100% minus iPhone's 47% is about what Google Pay and Samsung Pay combine

      • by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Wednesday October 23, 2019 @11:58AM (#59339238)

        Something doesn't add up here. TFA is claiming that Apple and Starbucks have 86.7% of the market between them, leaving only 13.3% for all the others.

        That sounds about right to me.

        I find it hard to believe that Google Pay accounts for less than 13.3% of the market. Android is the most popular mobile OS by far

        Sure is. But that doesn't mean that more advanced features are so widely used. Apple makes it very, very easy to set up ApplePay and pushes for setup on device setup.

        Let's look at the setup instructions [google.com] for Google pay and see where they lose people:

        Make sure your phone is running Android Lollipop (5.0) or higher.

        That's a bit over 10% of the market [android.com] cut out.

        Download Google Pay.

        Some huge percentage will never both to do this, Apple Pay ships on every device.

        You may be asked to set up a screen lock on your Android device. Google Pay works with PIN, pattern, password, fingerprint, or retinae scanning screen locks. It wonâ(TM)t work with facial recognition or screen locks like Smart Unlock or Knock to Unlock.

        How many people are not willing to forgo unsupported locking mechanisms, or enable one? Apple's locking mechanisms (TouchID and FaceID) are simple and work well enough most people enable them. And doing so is again part of device setup.

        To make purchases in stores: Make sure your device meets software standards, has NFC, and NFC is turned on. Your phone must also have HCE.

        Do devices ship with NFC turned off? If so then 13% of payments seems to me astoundingly high.

        If your Google Pay app disappeared after you open it for the first time, it may be because the app is not in your main screen

        And a another large percentage of users gone...

        Basically Apple really streamlines setting up Apple Pay and using it as well. The side buttons are dedicated to activating it, no hunting for an app. It's treated like a part of the hardware, not like an afterthought you can download and add on. The numbers presented are very likely accurate.

        • Make sure your phone is running Android Lollipop (5.0) or higher.

          That's a bit over 10% of the market [android.com] cut out.

          Sorry, wrong math or reading comprehension:

          Lollipop = 3 + 11.5
          Marshmallow = 16.9
          Nougat = 11.4 + 7.8
          Oreo = 12.9 + 15.4
          Pie = 10.4
          ======================
          TOTAL = 89.3%

          So 10.7% of Android devices do not qualify for Google Pay while 89.3% does.

          • I said:

            That's a bit over 10% of the market [android.com] cut out.

            You said :

            So 10.7% of Android devices do not qualify for Google Pay while 89.3% does.

            How is my 10% different than yours? How is my math bad when I reached exactly the same number as yours, just rounded?

            Looks like you reversed what I said in your mind, so next time before the snippy hot take try reading what I am actually saying, not what your preconceptions imagine I am saying.

            • Palmface! You're right...

              But then, 10.7% cut out doesn't seems to be a huge percentage (to me...)

              • I agree it's not a lot, I actually thought it would be more myself before I looked up the percentages... but every bit whittles it down to the final number we see. It really is way more I think about the setup not being as direct or perhaps more difficult (I didn't want to comment on how easy the actual setup process is as I've not seen someone setup a card in Google Pay, but I was assuming it was pretty similar since I know it can also use the camera to capture card details).

              • Palmface! You're right...

                But then, 10.7% cut out doesn't seems to be a huge percentage (to me...)

                You must've missed the estimates of the other percentages "cut out" by all the various "gotchas" and "inconvenience factors" along the way with the Google Pay implementation.

                If you accept his logic (and it seems pretty sound), then it is easy to see that that initial 10% can grow significantly.

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          The info on Google's page is a bit out of date, it works fine with face recognition. In fact it works better than Apple Pay does, because you only have to unlock the phone, not try to show it your face as you touch the payment terminal and double tap the power button.

          Android 5 was released in 2014 and most devices before that didn't have NFC anyway.

          Maybe it's different in the US but people paying with Android phones using Google Pay is very common in the UK. But then again I hear that the US is less develop

          • Actually Apple Pay still works the same way - you only need to "look at it" to unlock the phone - not during the entire tap process. The double tap is to confirm that you want to pay and aren't just walking by some scammers terminal with your phone unlocked.
            That said, I much prefer touch Id for Apple Pay which was simply tap and touch. Doing it with the Apple Watch is a far better experience (for a few hundred extra!).
            • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

              My wife has an iPhone 11 and you have to look while at the payment terminal. I googled and Apple says you can't disable it.

          • The info on Google's page is a bit out of date, it works fine with face recognition. In fact it works better than Apple Pay does, because you only have to unlock the phone, not try to show it your face as you touch the payment terminal and double tap the power button.

            Or, if you have a Pixel 4, your friend can have unlocked your phone while you sleep, and then simply keep the phone awake while they run to the store and buy a nice new flatscreen or something with your Google Pay.

            Sorry, this is a place where "More secure" triumphs over "Ease of Use". Apple got it right (as usual), when it comes to striking the right balance.

      • Something doesn't add up here. TFA is claiming that Apple and Starbucks have 86.7% of the market between them

        That's not what the article is saying. There are 64 million people making use of app payment technology of all kinds. 47.3% of those people have used Apple Pay. Of that same group of 64 million people, 39.4% of them have use the Starbucks App. There is probably a very large percentage of those people who have used both apps - they aren't exclusive.

        • Which is why this is a silly article. Use the Starbucks app at Starbucks as it makes more sense hardly puts it in the same category as Apple Pay which you can at this point use almost anywhere.

          I'd love to see dollar values of total purchases for each.

          • by Hodr ( 219920 )

            And it probably ignores Samsung pay since that doesn't require the POS to specifically support it or track it. You can use Samsung pay anywhere that takes a credit card that can be swiped.

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • I agree. I didn't even know they had an app or credit card or whatever. But then, I don't drink coffee and always use cash.

      Not being in the coffee culture it is very confusing and foreign to me. I'd think you'd get coffee at home, drive to work, then get coffee at work if you're still not getting your fix, and that the major hassle of stopping off at a store or drive-through would be avoided. Not to mention the seemingly absurd cost.

    • This doesn't surprise me at all. Most people don't have phones that support tap to pay. Many more never set it up. Lots more never use it because there's a dedicated app (like Starbucks) or because they have a card or cash.

      Everyone's phone supports the Starbucks app. It doesn't require any special hardware. And a large percentage of Starbucks customers use it every single day, or even multiple times a day.

      Starbucks also has the added boost of getting your order ready before you arrive. Apple Pay can't do th

  • by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Wednesday October 23, 2019 @11:53AM (#59339218)

    I mean not everyone buys stuff from Starbucks. It is expensive coffee that I don't see myself getting every day. Especially as my local Gas Station has upped their coffee game and offers good coffee for $1.00.

    But Cell phone payments like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay. Offers a more secure method (compared to magnetic strips or even chip) of payment that is for the most part much more convenient as you normally have your phone on you and it being built in the OS is easy to use. And it can be used for most of your products and services.

    • Offers a more secure method (compared to magnetic strips or even chip) of payment that is for the most part much more convenient as you normally have your phone on you

      I can't envision the situation in which I would have my phone but not my wallet. Also, there isn't any software running on my wallet. It's inherently more secure than anything on my phone. Or maybe we're using the word "secure" differently?

    • I mean not everyone buys stuff from Starbucks. It is expensive coffee that I don't see myself getting every day.

      It is not that expensive. The main problem is that it is SHIT coffee.

  • I don't have anything but anecdotal experience but I live in Silicon Valley and although yes these payment systems are becoming ubiquitous I hardly ever see anyone using one. My wife used it once at the pharmacy because it was cool to try out. I don't think she used it again. Credit cards and cash everywhere.
    • although yes these payment systems are becoming ubiquitous I hardly ever see anyone using one.

      30 million users is about 1/10th the total U.S. population, and not everyone will use it for every purchase - so that still fits in easily with what you see. What it means is, plenty of room for mobile payment use to grow and it should pretty well now that most of the largest holdouts (like Target) support the standard payment systems and the benefits will continue to be obvious to more and more people.

    • Ironically Silicon Valley is often behind the times in technology. I see these used more often in the rest of America, including Rural America. While not as common as credit cards, but more often then cash.

      Perhaps in SV it is risky to show your mobile device allegiance (or device you choose to purchase) as you may insult people working in different companies. But in other places, if someone uses Android Pay or Apple Pay there isn't a second look.

      While the Rural Hick that you see, may have their phone co

    • You will likely not see the Starbucks app being used in most cases. You pay before you arrive and then just pick up your order at the counter without talking to anyone. You're in the store for like 5 seconds.

  • Apple Pay, yea (Score:5, Interesting)

    by davebarnes ( 158106 ) on Wednesday October 23, 2019 @11:59AM (#59339244)

    We just spent 3 weeks in Italia, Slovenija and Österreich.
    95% of our transactions were credit card and not cash.
    My wife used her Apple watch (and Apple Pay) for 99% of the credit transactions.

    The USA is way behind Europe in Apple Pay acceptance.

    • by ruddk ( 5153113 )

      In most of Denmark we had an early start on using PIN codes on cards, the chip reader and then the contact less payment so I guess the Apple Pay and others are a small step with a technology already in place.
      Be careful with Germany though, they mostly likes their “normal cards”, as they say when I tried to use visa or MasterCard in he supermarket, which isn’t anything anyone have heard of outside Germany.
      I wonder if Apple Pay will change that so I don’t have to remember cash.

      • Is it free, or are do these payment systems come with hidden costs like credit cards do? If a corporation is trying to get you to use their payment or credit system, then it's a fact that they're making a lot of money off of it. Corporations never do anything solely for the benefit of the public.

        I see too many people in the US (and they must exist in huge numbers in Europe too) who treat credit as free money and then get in over their heads in debt. Having cash means you see how much you have left over whic

        • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

          Is it free, or are do these payment systems come with hidden costs like credit cards do? If a corporation is trying to get you to use their payment or credit system, then it's a fact that they're making a lot of money off of it. Corporations never do anything solely for the benefit of the public.

          I see too many people in the US (and they must exist in huge numbers in Europe too) who treat credit as free money and then get in over their heads in debt. Having cash means you see how much you have left over whic

        • Is it free, or are do these payment systems come with hidden costs like credit cards do? If a corporation is trying to get you to use their payment or credit system, then it's a fact that they're making a lot of money off of it. Corporations never do anything solely for the benefit of the public.

          I see too many people in the US (and they must exist in huge numbers in Europe too) who treat credit as free money and then get in over their heads in debt. Having cash means you see how much you have left over which should make it harder to spend too much. But maybe I'm weird because I consider spending less money to be a good thing.

          Apple Pay only charges the Card Issuer (generally a bank) for the CC that you link your Apple Pay to. For example, here is information targeted to businesses considering accepting Apple Pay that answers all those questions:

          "As of 2017, there is no additional fee to accept Apple Pay beyond your current credit card processing rates and fees. Payments made with Apple Pay in a store setting are considered “card-present” transactions and should be charged accordingly by your processor.

          How does Apple

    • The Watch was something of a game changer. Not because its dramatically easier than the phone, but because it moves the experience from not-quite-good-enough to better-than-the-alternatives. It's faster, easier, and more secure than using a chip at this point, so why wouldn't you use it if you have the option?

    • Way behind Canada too. In Canada about only Wal-Mart/Home Depot do not accept "pay pass" or "tap" or anything.
      In the USA? OMG... so many places still use magnetic strips... and some places accept tap, but still make you sign the receipt paper or enter your PIN. And in some others places when you pay with your phone, at the same time you approach your phone to the terminal the cashier is saying "we don't accept that" and *ding* it works, the cashier is flabbergasted you can do that and didn't know it was wor

      • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        Way behind Canada too. In Canada about only Wal-Mart/Home Depot do not accept "pay pass" or "tap" or anything.

        Don't know about Home Depot, but Walmart has been accepting tap for ages now. I've tapped my Walmart card at Walmart plenty of times. I expect Home Depot to be similar. I do know some small businesses that don't accept tap, mostly because their clientele is very big into small time credit card fraud. (I.e., they do business with little kids who often end up "borrowing" their parent's card and use th

    • That was my experience in the Netherlands, too.

      I think only 1-2 places couldn't perform an ApplePay transaction because they had card readers that didn't support NFC. The person at the MC Escher museum apologized profusely for their "outdated" credit card machine, too.

      But everywhere else I was easily able to pay with Applepay.

    • The USA is way behind Europe in Apple Pay acceptance.

      That sounds like a good thing, no? I don't understand this rabid anti-cash fervor that Europeans have, as well as the instant jumping onto the latest techno fads and utter surrendering to corporate marketing.

      • by khchung ( 462899 )

        Using mobile payment like Apple Pay,

        - you don't have to remember to carry cash
        - you don't have to look for ATM when you found you run out of cash
        - you don't have to remember to carry your ATM card
        - you don't have to worry about losing your cash or your ATM card
        - you don't have to worry about getting counterfeit bills
        - you don't have to count your changes
        - you don't have to carry coins with you

        If using Apple Pay on Apple Watch, you don't even need your phone, e.g. works even for Water World kind of theme par

        • Now you gotta worry about phone being hacked, Apple spying on your payments, running out of charge, finding a place hipster enough to accept Apple Pay, etc.

    • by DogDude ( 805747 )
      The USA is way behind Europe in Apple Pay acceptance.

      Good! That shit's expensive!
      • by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
        Well handling cash is not free either, counting, transporting, counterfeit bills etc, if no one used cash any more i think the 1-2% transaction fees from visa etc would not be significantly larger than those hidden cash costs, I might be wrong tho
        • by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
          Ok so i was wrong, if the person a few posts down (at time of posting this) was right, fin 3% not 1-2%, and cick backs are (as far as i know) only for credit cards, when I use my visa debit card There are no kick backs, an my credit card from mastercard only offer kick backs in a few places (most prominantly a fu international car rental firms). Heithout any data I suspect most kickbacks are from the buisness them sekves to draw npin more buisness, hey imho way better than paying for ad space, this way I ge
    • I spend all my time in the U.S. and 100% of my payments are credit card and not cash. Sounds like information completely irrelevant to Apple Pay, though...

  • Wow, one pretentious group of users overtakes another, think of the children!
  • Visa does about 150 million transactions a day [hackernoon.com], and about 48% of those [creditcards.com] are contactless. SO Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Starbucks - they all have a way to go to even approach Visa's tap-to-pay - and it's just starting too penetration in the US market.
    • Visa does about 150 million transactions a day [hackernoon.com], and about 48% of those [creditcards.com] are contactless. SO Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Starbucks - they all have a way to go to even approach Visa's tap-to-pay - and it's just starting too penetration in the US market.

      Shhh! Don't bring up the real juggernauts. They don't like it when we bring up the outside world in silicon valley.

      • If you really want to crush their souls - look at Alipay. Over 600 million monthly users, around 175 million transactions every day. There are 170,000 North American retailers with Alipay agreements - that's over 6 times more than all Starbucks and Apple stores worldwide, combined. In just North America.
  • Just go to your settings, it's right next to Wi-fi and Cell.

    Find Bluetooth.

    Turn it OFF.

    Only turn it on when you are using it.

  • Starbucks is doomed!!
  • by d3bruts1d ( 639027 ) on Wednesday October 23, 2019 @02:42PM (#59339950)
    I use Apple Pay to load my Starbucks Card.
  • by DogDude ( 805747 ) on Wednesday October 23, 2019 @02:43PM (#59339952)
    Credit cards (including all of the *Pays) are a tremendous scam. Regular Joe (yes, you) don't have to pay the exorbitant fees. Regular Joe gets kickbacks. The companies collect all of the money from the merchants. It's fucking brilliant. It should also be criminal. Everything you buy is at least 3% more expensive than it should be because of these stupid fucking cards. 3% of everything you buy goes to Visa/Mastercard/FirstData/Apple, etc. 3%.
    • by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
      Yes an 25% goes for sales tax/vat call it what you you want, at keast in a lot of europe, your point?
      • by DogDude ( 805747 )
        Taxes go to pay for things like roads, utilities, defense, education, etc. Things we all like.

        Those 3% credit card fees go to Visa/MC/Apple/whoever.
        • Don't know about you but I love being able to avoid cash and change. Huge upgrade for society IMO.
          • by DogDude ( 805747 )
            What's so terrible about cash? Is it heavy? Difficult? Complicated?
            • Cash requires constant refilling and results in various pieces of metal that I have to carry around with me everywhere, jingling, falling out of my pocket. A single thin piece of plastic replaces all of that and requires zero maintenance.
  • ABC is the most popular TV station for the same reason: addressable market.

    Starbucks is more like HBO. It's a smaller addressable market, but people are making a more active choice in using it.

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