Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Survey: Only 6% of U.S. iPhone Users Who Set Up Apple Pay Actually Use It
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
They might all use the same underlying technology but merchants can disable one form but allow another. There are places that accept Google Play but not Apple Pay.
Question for the US folks: I often read that place xyz doesn’t support Apple Pay or store xyz now finally supports it (in the US). In Germany/Europe every terminal which accepts contactless credit card payment automatically accepts Apple Pay, because at the end Apple Pay is also just another form of contactless credit card. Why is this different in the US? Thanks.
In the end, the final breaking of ice for really widespread NFC payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay is to get Home Depot and Lowe's to support it. Once that happens, you will see usage dramatically increase. You're not going to convince Walmart because they essentially implemented the remnant of the failed MCX system with Walmart Pay, which is part of the Walmart app.
Its kind of the other way around here in the US which I have to laugh at, because we got Apple Pay before we got tappable cards. I wanted to play with my new contactless card, so I had to tell the cashier to.....run it like a phone! LMAO! It worked like a charm.Oh sure, that's entirely fair. I think at the time, too, it was far more common to have people yank out their phones to pay than to dip their Apple Watch to the card reader, which was part of it for me - clerks were expecting me to hover my iPhone over it, so that's what I did.
What's funny is the number of times I've had to correct store clerks who would see me pull out my phone and say, "Oh, we don't take Apple Pay" and I had to tell them that if they have a "tap" system for credit cards, they take Apple Pay.
Fortunately, too, they've been grateful for the education.
I have to agree here as well. When I visited Portland it was vastly different than Phoenix, though Portland gets a one up for accepting Apple Pay right at the transit system, with no extra apps or cards required.
Phoenix generally has a better Apple Pay experience over all, with everywhere I go no matter how small or big the store (save for Walmart and Frys Food - Kroger), Apple Pay works in one shot, no arguments, no weird looks, and other people around me use it as well. Contrast that to Portland which I expected to be further ahead, and many places still swiped the card, let alone even have Apple Pay. Don't even get me started on the mess that is San Francisco, but at least they allow you to add the Clipper Card to Apple Pay now.
"Ima ding ding this and it's not lit up yet!"
I'm going to use that the next time I buy something with Apple Pay!
...or maybe I should say...
"Ima ding that ding ding the next time I slide thru a Wawa!"
Okay, I'm leaving now... 🤪
Yeah, Walmart is becoming less and less convenient. I wonder if Target takes it?
No, you have to ACTUALLY set it up to have it set up. Putting the cards into it is a thing that requires doing, not just "saying yes".
So why not learn? People are saying that we have 80 and 90-year olds who have figured it out. Why not you and your wife too?
Double-click the button. How hard is that?
They should IMPROVE Siri because she could really be a lot more helpful if they would just do a "dumbectomy" on her.
Preach it!
Yep, Walgreens is handy. Maybe I should drop my Sam's Club membership (owned by Walmart) and just go with Costco from here on out.
Oh woe is me, I hate using my passcode! I might suffocate or bleed to death if I enter my passcode wrong and have to redo it! 🤭
My state should support having my Covid card and my Concealed Carry card in Apple Wallet.
Yup -- the BEST feature of Apple Watch is Apple Pay. It's so great to not have to pull out my wallet. Though, I must admit that even in 2021 I've got people surprised when I pay with my Apple Watch and they tell me how cool that is. One clerk asked me to show her how to set it up. My non-techie wife absolutely loves that feature -- especially when on a beach vacation and she is not carrying her purse around.
Personally, I am not crazy about Apple Pay on iPhone because looking at Face ID to activate it is awkward -- but Apple Watch is so solid since the security is based on unlocking the watch ONCE when you put it on and then it automatically re-locks when it detects that it was removed from your wrist -- very secure -- very hard to lose. I especially like to use it now to pay for air compressors at gas stations to fill my tires up when low or on vending machines to get a candy bar -- so easy.
Yes Target has Apple Pay. Sam's Club in your case may be better as they have scan and go, but they don't have Apple Pay. Costco has Apple Pay but only accepts Visa cards, which means no Apple Card usage there at all."Ima ding ding this and it's not lit up yet!"
I'm going to use that the next time I buy something with Apple Pay!
...or maybe I should say...
"Ima ding that ding ding the next time I slide thru a Wawa!"
Okay, I'm leaving now... 🤪
Yeah, Walmart is becoming less and less convenient. I wonder if Target takes it?
No, you have to ACTUALLY set it up to have it set up. Putting the cards into it is a thing that requires doing, not just "saying yes".
So why not learn? People are saying that we have 80 and 90-year olds who have figured it out. Why not you and your wife too?
Double-click the button. How hard is that?
They should IMPROVE Siri because she could really be a lot more helpful if they would just do a "dumbectomy" on her.
Preach it!
Yep, Walgreens is handy. Maybe I should drop my Sam's Club membership (owned by Walmart) and just go with Costco from here on out.
Oh woe is me, I hate using my passcode! I might suffocate or bleed to death if I enter my passcode wrong and have to redo it! 🤭
My state should support having my Covid card and my Concealed Carry card in Apple Wallet.
Oh, it definitely is true where I live in NJ. Plenty of mom and pop stores that do not accept CCs and also small restaurants who stopped accepting anything but cash during COVID. Even in tourist places, like Cape May, NJ, you will find stores that don't take CCs. Not in the UK. It is all about the hidden costs that you, as a customer, do not see or are perceived as unwilling to absorb.
sounds about rightOh woe is me, I hate using my passcode! I might suffocate or bleed to death if I enter my passcode wrong and have to redo it! 🤭
Still don’t understand why the US is slow with contactless. We accept contactless everwhere here in Australia. I use Apple Pay everytime I pay
In my experience tap to pay is even easier. Apple pay requires bringing up wallet, selecting card, unlocking phone...and then it doesn't work.
Last edited:
I think part of it is a lot of people in the US don’t see taking out their phone, getting into the Wallet app and double clicking as being any more convenient than taking out their card and inserting/tapping it so they stick to the familiar. Now, using your Apple Watch appears to be more convenient, at least it would be for me if I owned one (probably getting the AW S7). Other reasons could be something small merchants and sometimes larger merchants fear to some degree and that’s transaction fees as well as the cost of implementing/maintaining new technologies.
There was a time when Americans ran into the future and now we walk. In some areas, we walk faster/sprint for a short distance, but with others, we take our time, for better or for worse.
There was a time when Americans ran into the future and now we walk. In some areas, we walk faster/sprint for a short distance, but with others, we take our time, for better or for worse.
I can see why this happened. If only 70% of places accept Apple Pay, and you need cash for tipping, that means you have to carry a wallet anyway.
Its when you can stop using a wallet because 100% places accept mobile payments, and even your licence is on your phone, that it makes sense
Its when you can stop using a wallet because 100% places accept mobile payments, and even your licence is on your phone, that it makes sense
I question whether that survey accurately characterizes usage. I use Apple Pay whenever I can, typically daily. Businesses that are accepting Apple Pay are expanding all the time. Even some gas pumps that I use take Apple Pay now (it's not super common but I am finding this option more and more).
It's a huge difference from the first few years when it was hard to find businesses that accepted it, and half the time the terminal didn't work right or the cashier didn't know how to enable it. Nowadays cashiers don't even flinch when I make payments with my watch.
However, I also know old habits die hard, particularly when it comes to money. I worked as a cashier a long time ago when writing checks gave way to debit cards. Even years later I still had stubborn customers that would whip out the checkbook to pay for groceries because that's what they knew and were comfortable with. I imagine that's really rare today.
It's a huge difference from the first few years when it was hard to find businesses that accepted it, and half the time the terminal didn't work right or the cashier didn't know how to enable it. Nowadays cashiers don't even flinch when I make payments with my watch.
However, I also know old habits die hard, particularly when it comes to money. I worked as a cashier a long time ago when writing checks gave way to debit cards. Even years later I still had stubborn customers that would whip out the checkbook to pay for groceries because that's what they knew and were comfortable with. I imagine that's really rare today.
I love it. I use it as often as I can... especially now during the pandemic. Sure, it's a PITA with the mask on, but tapping in my pin still beats fumbling through my wallet to find my card. I think it's this low because people just aren't used to it and haven't set it up. (*cough *cough... Like my wife, haha).
The only reason I dont use it more often is because it's still not accepted everywhere I shop.
The only reason I dont use it more often is because it's still not accepted everywhere I shop.