Mobile Wallet Use Surges – Apple Pay Leads the Way
A Cash Free Future
Mobile wallets are catching up with the usage of cash in the US. Looking back at 2020, an odd year to say the least, 10% of spending at physical cash registers was completed with a digital or mobile wallet payment such as Apple Pay. By comparison, only 11.9% of all in-person cash register transactions were completed by using cash. The remainder of the transactions were completed with credit/debit cards and checks. The global pandemic has brought a cashless society much closer on the horizon as it is apparent that mobile payments will soon eclipse the use of cash. This follows a global trend with our neighbors in Canada who completed a mere 5.4% of all transactions in cash during 2020. Worldwide use of cash has dropped a whopping 42% since 2019. Cash will soon be the least used payment method in the entire world.
Pandemic Fueled
While it was unlikely that Apple could have predicted the COVID-19 pandemic would arrive with a vengeance in 2021, Apple Pay provided a viable option for consumers who shunned handling cash. There is no doubt about it, cash is dirty. It passes from hand-to-hand and from stranger to stranger. Cash is placed and stored in places you probably don’t even want to think about. The pandemic has catapulted payments years ahead of projections. Discussing the state of mobile payments, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “As you can imagine, in this environment, people are less want to hand over a card… contactless payment has taken on a different level of adoption in it that, I think, will never go back. The U.S. has been lagging a bit in contactless payment, and I think that the pandemic may well put the U.S. on a different trajectory there.”
Important to Note
We believe that we are clearly entering a new phase in the adoption of digital payment methods. The implications for our merchants are profound. Merchants must develop and maintain strategies and technology to meet the diverse spending preferences of their customers. The habits of how consumers spend money is rapidly changing and merchants who don’t accept digital payments such as Apple Pay, Samsung and Google Pay will likely see their customers shop elsewhere. The use of digital wallets increased 51% in 2020 over usage in 2019.
By The Numbers
- There were approximately 2 billion digital wallet transactions in 2020 using Apple, Google and Samsung Pay
- 92% of all digital wallet transactions in 2020 were completed through Apple Pay
- The average digital wallet transaction jumped from $15 to $23 in 2020
If you need help getting set up to accept digital wallet payments, please call us at 833-287-6722 for immediate assistance. We’d be happy to help you.
