The amount of money spent using Apple Pay has reportedly reached a new high as consumers increasingly use their smartphones to buy goods and services.
New data from TradingPlatforms.com suggests that the mobile payments service processed over $6 trillion over the last twelve months - a greater amount than that spent using Mastercard.
Citing data from Statista, the report says that Apple Pay is now the second-biggest provider of digital payments, although it is still some way behind market leader Visa, which facilitated around $10 trillion in payments over the same period.
Apple Pay success
"Apple Pay is increasingly becoming the go-to payment method for consumers and businesses alike," TradingPlatforms.com's Edith Reads noted. "The fact that it has now processed more transactions than Mastercard is a testament to its popularity. Already, it has outdone Mastercard with only Visa remaining on top. Apple Pay has an undue advantage and benefits from their monopoly on iPhone NFC hardware. We expect to see Apple Pay continue to grow in popularity and market share in the coming years.”
Apple has been hard at work boosting the capabilities of its payment service over the past twelve months, with Apple Pay now a crucial part of the company's work, available on its newest iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.
This includes the recent launch of Apple Pay Later, which lets shoppers split the cost of a purchase made with their device into four equal payments over six weeks, without incurring interest or late fees.
Available as a payment option whenever a user checks out with Apple Pay or Wallet, the service gives users a clear view of exactly what payment amounts are expected, and on which date. Users have the option to pay early to clear a balance if wanted, with Apple saying the tool is "designed with users’ financial health in mind".
The company has also made it easier to pay in stores using your Apple smartphone with the launch of its Tap to Pay on iPhone service, allowing small businesses to accept payment via iPhone.
Apple also recently announced a partnership with Square to build the service into the latter's POS terminals, making the service even more widely available to start-ups around the world.
- These are the best POS systems for your small business right now
