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Apple Not Worried About Apple Pay's Slow Adoption, Believes on Path to Replace Cash and Cards
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While I'll give them the faster part (the chip reader forces you to keep it in there for a bit of time), one thing iTunes had going for it was it also worked on Windows when what was it... 90% of the computing world was on that? As long as it requires an Iphone, it won't completely dominate. Here, you need Apple hardware to use this. iPhones are quite ubiquitous, but not everyone will rush to buy the newest Iph. They'll wait a few years to upgrade. It would take a while to get everyone where enough people are on an Iph that can run it, or have an aWatch to pair with an older Iph5/c.
Plus, some folks are worried that once Apple has too much clout, they'll be able to call their own terms and abuse their influence, which isn't good for the rest of us.
It's very difficult to believe that Apple is content with the slow pace of retailer adoption of NFC-compatible POS equipment in the U.S. They've probably just learned to accept it, though, because there's really nothing they can do to force businesses to upgrade their POS equipment.
What really frustrates me is when retailers upgrade their POS equipment to NFC-compatible hardware and then proceed to disable NFC. That's the case at probably close to half of the businesses I frequent in metro Atlanta.
For all the silly commercials Apple has done about the iPhone and the Apple Watch over the years, they really need start doing commercials showing Apple Pay in action. That's especially true now considering how slow the payment process is in the U.S. as the POS equipment takes at least six seconds to read the chip on the debit/credit card. Sometimes, I wonder if there's an ancient 8086 processor in the POS equipment.
If Apple would start advertising it, I suspect that more average consumers with iPhones would start asking retailers if they accepted Apple Pay and that might create some momentum.
What really frustrates me is when retailers upgrade their POS equipment to NFC-compatible hardware and then proceed to disable NFC. That's the case at probably close to half of the businesses I frequent in metro Atlanta.
For all the silly commercials Apple has done about the iPhone and the Apple Watch over the years, they really need start doing commercials showing Apple Pay in action. That's especially true now considering how slow the payment process is in the U.S. as the POS equipment takes at least six seconds to read the chip on the debit/credit card. Sometimes, I wonder if there's an ancient 8086 processor in the POS equipment.
If Apple would start advertising it, I suspect that more average consumers with iPhones would start asking retailers if they accepted Apple Pay and that might create some momentum.Apple Pay is great- I try to use it as much as I can. Unfortunately, in NYC, its adoption is abysmal. Most places don't even accept credit cards. The ones that do usually have cheap old machines that don't even support the chip (liability be damned). It seems to me the only places that do support it are big chains, and then only 2/3rds of those (the rest still banking on their CurrentC/ in house solutions). And THEN, for the remaining few chains that theoretically support it, their terminals are often down/not set up for it, etc.
Also, has anyone seen a setup for bars and restaurants to allow Apple Pay with the whole tipping process? That's another bump in the road.
Here's hoping it gets better!
Also, has anyone seen a setup for bars and restaurants to allow Apple Pay with the whole tipping process? That's another bump in the road.
Here's hoping it gets better!
I use it when I can, but I can't use it in most places. A few grocery stores have adopted it in my area, which makes life a bit easier.
I went to NYC a few years ago and found that every place I went to accepted cards. I was going to some pretty small delis and restaurants, too, not just tourist traps and large retailers. YMMV I suppose?
Also, the solution for restaurants is those wireless terminals like they have in Canada and Europe, but good luck convincing restaurants they need to buy those. It's already a challenge just to get them to bother to upgrade to chip; those who have basically went with the reader attached to the side of the POS display because why not? It's not like our cards need a PIN or anything.
That could very well end up becoming a problem if banks start deciding that mobile payment is a failure and start demanding concessions from Apple. It's not exactly an industry that cares about the long-term.
I was wondering about the same thing. I use Apple Pay daily in Hungary, every single store at any remote village is ready to accept contactless payments in the country. And this is true for most European countries.
By the time Apple Pay was introduced, payment terminals in Europe were already accepting it, since European banks issue NFC Chip Bank Cards for many years now.
NFC reliability is a HUGE barrier to wider adoption. Getting the terminal to accept payment usually takes me 3-4 tries at my local grocery store and it often won't work on some terminals at all. I've basically given up as using a card is usually faster and always less frustrating. Hopefully NFC payment reliability will improve over time with updated iPhones and payment terminals.
Weird, here (in Minneapolis) the grocery stores near me (Whole Foods, Lunds, among others) were among the first to be Apple Pay/contactless compatible. For me the worst holdouts appear to be restaurants.
Initially I didn't use Apple Pay that much, but over the last six months I've migrated to using it as much as I can....since I got the Apple Watch really.
I love that I don't have to mess around with my wallet or phone at the till....I just tap the watch to pay, leaving both hands free to pick up the bags and go. No messing around putting cards back into my wallet or anything.
That said, the £30 limit is a pain....probably 75% of my payments are under the £30, but I'd still prefer it to go up to £100 now.
I love that I don't have to mess around with my wallet or phone at the till....I just tap the watch to pay, leaving both hands free to pick up the bags and go. No messing around putting cards back into my wallet or anything.
That said, the £30 limit is a pain....probably 75% of my payments are under the £30, but I'd still prefer it to go up to £100 now.
I can't wait for a day when your phone is all you have to take with you when you leave the house - replacing your house keys, car keys, and wallet. Apple Pay is MUCH faster than chip readers but it's hit or miss whether it's accepted.
I don't think of myself as old, maybe I am, but I remember in a high school job using the old imprint credit card machines. We also had to look for fraudulent credit card numbers in a book containing a huge list of numbers they mailed out occasionally. Now I can pay with my phone.
I prefer using my Apple Pay. It is more convenient to grab my phone than fish a card or of my wallet. I find the whole process to be much quicker. One reason for the slow uptake could be folks like me. I didn't use Apple Pay, because I couldn't, until I upgraded my 5S to an SE in November.
I'd love to not carry a card but until more places have Apple Pay I can't. Right now I use it at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's because those are the only places I frequent that take it.
Apple Pay provides much better privacy than the chip cards which is one reason why retailers don't want to adopt it. They have built up systems to track you using your credit card information.
I prefer using my Apple Pay. It is more convenient to grab my phone than fish a card or of my wallet. I find the whole process to be much quicker. One reason for the slow uptake could be folks like me. I didn't use Apple Pay, because I couldn't, until I upgraded my 5S to an SE in November.
I'd love to not carry a card but until more places have Apple Pay I can't. Right now I use it at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's because those are the only places I frequent that take it.
Apple Pay provides much better privacy than the chip cards which is one reason why retailers don't want to adopt it. They have built up systems to track you using your credit card information.
Bingo. If Apple Pay does not have this feature in the next round of iPhones, Apple Pay will continue to see lackluster adoption in the U.S. If the next round of iPhones has this feature, one of the new models will be an instant buy for me...and I currently have an iPhone 7.
Being able to use my phone (and Apple Watch, for that matter) to make a payment anywhere I can currently insert or swipe a card is probably the biggest thing on my own personal "want" list for an iPhone and Apple Watch. This nonsense of having to check (in most instances) to see if Apple Pay is accepted is asinine and it's also very un-Apple-like. The retail staff usually has no idea so you just have to pull your phone out to see if it works. I guess the "it just works" mantra really did go out the window a long time ago.
I use it everywhere i can now, but my favourite place is when using London Underground. No getting my wallet out in busy areas.
When it works, it's great, but I stopped using Apple Pay because 1/2 the time, I get an "Application Error" on the Card Reader and my transaction fails. This is in Canada...
So i just use my Visa/MasterCard/Debit tap cards instead - similar speed and convenience but much more reliable.
So i just use my Visa/MasterCard/Debit tap cards instead - similar speed and convenience but much more reliable.
Well, here in Finland NFC terminals are pretty much everywhere nowadays. I'd be glad to use Apple Pay and I could do it pretty much everywhere I shop. However, Apple hasn't got the deals in place so I can't register my card. I'm not sure if it's more Apple's or the banks' fault, but it's not looking like Apple's trying.
Good luck standing in those long queues fiddling with the credit card while getting it out of your wallet while I whip out my phone and get on my way. Apple Pay is the future. Its too bad its adoption rate is low. Apple should take a leaf out of Samsung Pay's books
You may be on to the real reason for Apple Pay's low adoption. Waiting in line at the cashier to pay is already a bottleneck and a negative experience. If something like Apple Pay is unreliable it makes the experience even worse so it's understandable that retailers are dropping support for Apple Pay since longer delay and frustrated customers mean loss of business.
This is in fact universal. Swipe machines are used worldwide. The chances of Samsung Pay being unsupported are slim