Apple Pay shows off in US, may be lionized in UK - report

42% of US Apple 6/6+ owners reported having used Apple Pay, virtually identical to the proportions reported in two previous waves of the study conducted in February and April 2015, according to the Apple Pay Tracker report issued by The Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG).

American users consider Apple Pay to be more than a novelty. The number of places where Apple Pay is used has also increased. In the April, 2015 survey, with only 13% of US Apple Pay users using it in more than six stores while, in June, 2015, that number had grown to 24%. During the same two month period, the number using Apple Pay for six or more apps grew from 1% to 10%.

In the UK, where Apple Pay just launched, the proportion of merchants accepting the payment method is much higher than in the US, due to the broader deployment of contactless cards and NFC, a technology that enables mobile phone payment. ACG plans to track Apple Pay usage in the UK.

One of the few complaints US users have is lack of opportunities to use Apple Pay. The effect is particularly notable in the burgeoning m-commerce market, as Apple Pay devotees have learned to search the App Store to find apps that accept the payment method. Despite the enthusiasm of early adopters, Apple Pay sales volume accounts for only a tiny share of overall credit and debit card sales.