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Apple Pay is proving popular with many Apple Watch owners.
A hefty 80 percent of 1,000 Apple Watch owners surveyed in the US and UK by research firm Wristly have already used Apple Pay at least once. Among the people who haven’t used it, 5 percent said they don’t “perceive a benefit,” another 5 percent said they have security concerns, and around 15 percent said they their payment needs are already being met. But 29 percent of the non-users said one of the main reasons they don’t use Apple Pay is because their credit card provider doesn’t support it.
Apple Pay launched in the US in October as Apple’s first foray into contactless mobile payments. Using an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or Apple Watch, people can pay for items on the go at supported retailers via NFC (near-field communication) technology. Apple Pay usage is notably high among the Apple Watch owners polled for several reasons. But a major one is likely convenience.
To use Apple Pay with an iPhone, you have to pull the phone out of your pocket or purse and then make the transaction via the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. With an Apple Watch, your payment method is already there on your wrist. All you need do is double-tap the watch’s side button, select the credit or debit card you want to use and hold the face of the watch to the payment terminal. The watch will vibrate, and a check mark appears on the screen to confirm the payment. You don’t need a password or Touch ID as you do on an iPhone. The watch will ask for a password if you take it off your wrist. But as long as you keep it on, a simple double-tap does the work.
That convenience may be the reason why half of the Apple Watch owners polled who use Apple Pay called the service “magical,” while another 42 percent dubbed it “convenient.” Only 4 percent found it “not that useful,” while another 3 percent said they have other concerns about using Apple Pay. Further, 79 percent of the Apple Pay users said they prefer to use it on their watch versus their iPhone.
Drilling down further, 62 percent of those polled who use Apple Pay said they prefer to buy from retailers due at least in part to the business’s decision to support Apple Pay. And 86 percent of those people said they look for the Apple Pay logo when they’re at the checkout counter. If Apple’s payment option is available, 81 percent of Apple Pay users said they will use it.
Though most of the Apple Watch owners polled may enjoy Apple Pay, Apple still faces a challenge expanding the service’s reach, both in the US and abroad. In the US, Apple has lined up a healthy list of banks and credit card companies to support Apple Pay. But it’s still facing a long haul getting more retailers to jump on board. Retailers have to set up the necessary NFC terminals in order to accept Apple Pay, a process that takes time and money. In the meantime, rival services such as Android Pay and Samsung Pay are now ramping up. Samsung Pay doesn’t require NFC and can work with any magnetic strip card reader, so it holds at least that advantage over Apple Pay.
Apple Pay recently hit the UK with support from nine banks so far and another five coming soon. But Apple Pay has been hitting obstacles in such regions as China, Canada and Australia where banks are balking at the high cut of transaction fees that Apple wants to grab from them.
