The only thing surprising is that the headline suggests ApplePay is doing OK inside the U.S. I think TC and co assumed ApplePay, being an Apple product, would automatically go viral after time like the iDevices did. Apple put zero marketing effort into the project, just as it ignores home kit. But especially when you are trying to break entrenched habits like whipping out a credit card some serious behavior change methods are needed.
When AP launched Apple should have promoted the hell out of it, funded contests, games w/ cheap prizes, mall demonstrations in major malls everywhere or even in Apple Stores, anything to get people's attention, raise awareness, get ordinary people excited to use it.
As it is now it's mostly Apple fans that are Apple Pay aware which is maybe 10% off all iPhone users. And only a fraction of those actually use Apple Pay. I use it w/ my AW when I can find a store I shop at that accept its. Which is another huge problem. Apple has done a good job getting banks onboard, but has dropped the ball with merchants. And that hurts the product too. If you can't use it it falls out of people's memory. I'm in DC I can think of a mere handful of chains that accept it. Pitiful. It should be, it must be, universal. But again, Apple is distracted with too many projects at one time, so everything is a moderate success at best, but nothing gangbusters.
Botton line is Apple mistakenly though a few ads and releasing press releases announcing lists of new banks would be enough. Normal people glaze over. Swipe or putting a card in a chip reader is simple -- maybe time consuming w/ a chip reader but no set up and easy concept. That is what Apple is up against and why ApplePay is a sleeper.
